TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Materials/Processes

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMS-312

OBJECTIVE: Develop an aircraft tiedown that can effectively secure aircraft to the flight deck and weigh a maximum of 6 pounds, half of the weight of the current tiedown.

DESCRIPTION: Current steel/aluminum TD-1A/B series chain tiedowns have been in the fleet for over 40 years. They incur high attrition due to rough usage, corrosion and high utilization. They are heavy and physically demanding for flight deck personnel to handle as aircraft are moved and respotted. Each tiedown weighs 12 lbs. and one blue shirt will typically lug 6 to 12 tiedowns, depending on sea state, (72 to 144 lbs. total) for the better part of a 12-hour flight day. During high sea states, the blue shirt will carry 18 to 20 tiedowns (up to 240 lbs. total).

The Navy seeks a technology development effort leading to a lightweight tiedown. Lighter weight tiedowns would improve safety and long term health of sailors and improve personnel performance and quality of work life aboard all air capable ships. Additional savings in initial acquisition cost and through reduced attrition are also possible. Objective is to provide a tiedown that is 6 lbs., half of the weight of the current tiedown.

A solution would need to have a long operating life, and withstand conditions in the harsh flight deck environment, including exposure to sun/UV rays, saltwater, grease/dirt/aviation fuel, ice and temperature extremes (120 deg F to -40 deg F). It must be resistant to abrasion from non-skid and repeated impacts from being dropped onto the deck. It must withstand heat loads from nearby aircraft exhaust (estimated: 140 deg F for 1 hour, 500 deg F for 30 seconds). Tension must be adjustable and not slip under loads. They must be quickly installed and removed from the aircraft to minimize potential accidents from inadvertent aircraft movement and to maintain the tempo of flight operations. Aircraft tiedowns have a working strength requirement of 10,000 lbs., and an ultimate tensile strength requirement of 15,000 lbs. Per unit production cost must be low enough to be viable.

PHASE I: Provide a conceptual design. Prove the concept can meet the stated requirements through analysis and/or limited lab demonstrations. Provide cost and reliability estimates.

PHASE II: Develop a prototype tiedown. Demonstrate form, fit and function and speed of application/release with Navy aircraft and pad-eyes and Navy personnel. Demonstrate compliance with requirements by conducting environmental testing and subjecting prototype samples to conditions that include representative heat loads, oil/aviation fuel, salt spray, freezing, and hard impacts then pull testing to determine whether the samples can maintain resistance to tensile loads under these environmental conditions. Provide detailed drawings and cost and reliability estimates.

PHASE III: Provide production tiedowns for the fleet. On average, NAVICP Philadelphia procures approximately 10,000 per year.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This material could benefit any industry application for tiedowns where high strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to high heat loads are required.

REFERENCES:
1. NAVAIR 17-1-537, Aircraft Securing and Handling Procedures

2. Lightweight Tiedown Specification (will be posted on the SITIS website)

KEYWORDS: Lightweight materials; aircraft tiedowns

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between July 20 and August 16, 2010, you may talk directly with the Topic Authors to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting August 17, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

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