Battelle Awarded $46.3 Million Contract to Support Manufacturing of Materials for Extreme Hypersonic Environments

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Battelle has won a potential seven-year, $46.3 million contract to help the Department of Defense support the manufacture of thermal protection materials that can withstand extreme hypersonic environments.

The Manufacturing of Carbon/Carbon Composites for Hypersonic Applications (MOC3HA) initiative seeks to rapidly mature and integrate manufacturing innovations that will accelerate the production of carbon/carbon composites.

The Air Force Research Laboratory received five bids for the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract and will obligate $6.3 million in fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of award.

“Battelle made a strategic decision a little over a year ago to re-examine the basic process used for creating critical high-temperature carbon materials that are used in hypersonic vehicle shells and structures,” said Andy Kirby, Research Lead for Space and Hypersonics. “Currently it’s a very expensive, time-consuming process that doesn’t lend itself to the scalability needed to meet the increasing demand for future hypersonic weapons.”

The urgency to meet and exceed near-peer capabilities in hypersonic weapons systems has elevated the importance of solving the daunting scientific and engineering challenges that have made reliable flight at hypersonic (Mach 5+) speeds elusive. One such critical need is Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) that can withstand the aerodynamic heating of traveling at hypersonic speeds—few materials can withstand such extreme temperatures, and current manufacturing practices can take on the order of months to yield a single part.

Brent Carey, a senior research scientist who is leading the program, said “through MOC3HA, we’ve pulled together a team of carbon-carbon manufacturers, industry specialists, academic groups, and external technology providers with automation expertise to improve the production of these critical parts for hypersonic platforms.”

Battelle’s Advanced Materials team employs deep scientific and engineering expertise to help government and commercial clients develop new capabilities, extend the lifetime of current systems, and improve operational performance.

“We’ve also been running a strong IRAD program to fundamentally improve the manufacturability of carbon-carbon through materials innovation, and just started some innovative research aimed at improving the temperature resilience of material surfaces after they have already been manufactured into parts,” Carey said. “At the end of the day, our goal is to improve performance and shorten the time of production to increase the availability of these critical materials.”

Battelle has made key investments including a $1 million capital investment to establish an R&D-scale high-temperature composite development laboratory focused on improving performance and manufacturability for advanced TPS.

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. Case Number AFRL-2020-0244, 5 Nov 20.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.