Contact: Bob Ratliff
A joint university-industry coalition is evaluating the use of composite materials in building helicopter hangars for the Navy.
Mississippi State University's College of Engineering is leading a five-university consortium teaming with industry to design, build and evaluate a composite structure.
The use of composites-plastics and other non-metallic materials-is gaining acceptance for use on naval vessels. Composites are lightweight and can avoid radar detection, but don't provide adequate protection from lightning strikes. Lightning protection will be a significant part of the university/industry project.
The project will involve Mississippi State's electrical and computer engineering and aerospace engineering faculty, as well as personnel with the university's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory.
The other institutions working on the project are the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, Clemson University, and the University of New Orleans.
The university consortium will work closely with Pascagoula-based Ingalls Shipbuilders and Seeman Composites. The Office of Naval Research and the Carderock Division of Naval Surface Warfare Center in Washington, D.C., will provide coordination of the research.
"Lightning strikes are not a major problem for large ships constructed of metal because the energy produced by the lightning is usually conducted through the metal to the water," explained Mike Mazzola, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and university coordinator for the composites project. "Composites do not conduct the energy away from the ship and electronic equipment housed inside a composite structure can be severely damaged by a lightning strike."
The hangar produced and tested by the university/industry effort will be designed for the Navy's Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer. The Office of Naval Research is funding the multi-year project.