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6
The Path Forward
A NEW PARADIGM The ideal situation is to have new materials available
to meet these challenges. However, while new materials are
The need for rapid advances in the effectiveness and
the subject of research efforts, their introduction into military
affordability of lightweight protection materials and sys-
systems is very slow. As shown in Chapter 1 (Figure 1-3), the
tems is compelling and will continue for the foreseeable
advances indicated by the areal density plot of lightweight
future. The experience with body armor and vehicle armor
protection materials have slowed in recent years. The in-
in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown that the weight penalty
ability to rapidly transition materials with the properties and
of today’s materials exacts a significant toll on U.S. forces,
behavior needed for armor systems is due not to a lack of
both in human terms and in increased costs for equipment,
excellent materials research, but rather to the approach by
maintenance, and fuel. Escalating threats have greatly ac-
which protection materials research is accomplished.
centuated the need for continued rapid development of
As described in Chapter 2 (see also Figure 6-1), armor
lightweight armor.
NEW THREAT
Armor Concept Select from
Materials Research
(Geometry Available
and Development
Configuration) Materials
Fail
Pass Make & Shoot
Ballistic Shoot or
Evaluation Model
Model
Fail
Modeling and
Select from
M&S
Pass Simulation
Available
Evaluation
Research and
Models/Codes
Development
NEW ARMOR
FIGURE 6-1 Current paradigm for armor design. As mentioned in Chapter 2, a shoot-and-look approach is much more prevalent than a
modeling approach.
99
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100 OPPORTUNITIES IN PROTECTION MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE ARMY APPLICATIONS
NEW THREAT Material ..
Characteristics of Threat Material 2
Material 1
Armor Concept Select from Materials Research
(Geometry Available and Development/
Configuration) Materials Design
Fail
Characterization
Pass Make & Shoot
Ballistic Shoot or Canonical Microstructure
Evaluation Model Model Mechanisms
Make & Shoot Model
Fail
Rapid
Modeling and
Iterations
Select from
M&S
Pass Simulation
Available
Evaluation
Research and
Models/Codes
Development
Increased Fidelity
Characteristics of Armor Performance
NEW ARMOR
FIGURE 6-2 New paradigm for armor development. The new design path for armor provides enhanced and closer coupling of the materials
research and development community and the modeling and simulation community, resulting in significantly reduced time for development
of new armor. This path connects the armor design process to the materials research and development community through canonical models
to deal with the restricted information problem. The elements of armor system design are not themselves new, but the emphasis shifts from
design-make-shoot-redesign to rapid simulation iterations, and from designing with off-the-shelf-materials to designing that explores mate -
rials for their protective properties. The feedback loop between armor system design and material design contrasts with current practice, in
which a one-way flow puts new materials on the shelf to be tried in the make-shoot-look process.
this new paradigm, the current armor system design practice
systems in operational use today are the product of years of
is replaced by rapid iterations of modeling and simulation,
heuristic-based advances. Development of the protection
with ballistic evaluation used selectively to verify satisfac-
materials used in these systems is coupled only loosely to
tory designs. Strong coupling with the materials research and
armor system design, with the coupling taking the form of
development community is accomplished through canonical
inferred desired properties. The current paradigm of material
models that translate armor system requirements (which are
and system development can be characterized as a design-
often classified) into characterizations, microstructures, be-
make-test-redesign-repeat … iterative loop. The time and
haviors, and deformation mechanisms that an open research
expense involved in such an approach limit the number of
community can use. The principal objective of this new
optimization iterations and slow the advance of new mate-
paradigm is to enable the design of superior materials and to
rial systems that could provide the needed protection with
accelerate their implementation in armor systems. The new
reduced areal density.
paradigm will build on the multidisciplinary collaboration
The current paradigm and the research programs and
concepts and lessons from other applications documented in
organizations that support it are not sufficient to accelerate
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME),1
advances in lightweight protection materials. New research
which cites many advances and several examples of suc-
initiatives, organizational structures, and implementation
cessful implementation. It advocates pushing the large body
approaches will be needed to increase the rate of progress.
The committee concludes that the ability to design and
optimize protection material systems can be accelerated and 1NRC. 2008. Integrated Computational Systems Engineering: A Trans -
made more cost effective by operating in a new paradigm for formational Discipline for Improved Competitiveness and National Secu-
rity. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.
lightweight protection material development (Figure 6-2). In
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101
THE PATH FORWARD
of existing computational materials science to the next step. and better requirements for achievable material be-
Unfortunately, while the optimization of the materials, manu- havior and dynamic properties.
facturing processes, and component design is well described • Simulation can model the consequences of specific
in the ICME report, the path forward for protection materials process flows on the microstructure and hence the
is far more complicated, since designs must deal with highly subsequent dynamic behavior and other important
nonlinear and large deformations typically not encountered attributes (such as cost) before physically making
in commercial products, where applied stresses are kept well the material. Benefit: higher yields, faster deliveries,
below the elastic limit in the linear regime. lower costs.
The new paradigm can be focused on the most promis-
ing opportunities in lightweight protection materials, bring- Successful implementation of the new paradigm can,
ing such current products as ceramic plates and polymer fiber by dint of the insights gained from modeling and simula-
materials well beyond their present state of performance and tion, give armor system designers the freedom to work with
opening the possibility for radically new armor system solu- novel as well as established materials to meet performance
tions to be explored and optimized in tens of months rather requirements. It can identify more rapidly than in the past
than tens of years. how newly envisioned and to-be-developed materials and
The added features (indicated in red in Figure 6-2) of the systems could create new opportunities for the protection
new paradigm compared to the current paradigm are these: afforded personnel, vehicles, ships, aircraft, and structures
at lower weight and cost. The new approach would enable
• Canonical models explicitly link armor system de- the reliable identification of materials that could be advanta-
sign, which is typically done in a restricted setting, geous in protection applications, establish their merits and
to protection materials research and design, which is limitations, drive research and development to exploit the
typically done in an unclassified setting. A particular protective capacity of the new materials and systems, and,
canonical model puts some aspect(s) of the dynamic most importantly, bring about their rapid insertion into the
protection problem into a standard form to be used field.
as the basis for material system experiments and To realize the vision of this new paradigm and achieve
simulations. Each canonical model abstracts the key these benefits, advances are needed on multiple fronts, in-
features of a threat and an armor configuration and cluding these:
expresses them in unclassified terms of dynamic
material properties and behaviors needed to meet • Better fundamental understanding of the mechanisms
protection requirements. Such canonical models by which ballistic penetrators and blast loads interact
would be defined by an individual or group with the with material systems at multiple scales, including
appropriate expertise and an intimate knowledge of insights into (1) dynamic properties at large strains,
both restricted and open research and development pressures, and high rates that go far beyond the usual
activity. A particular canonical model provides both quasi-static measures and (2) the resulting material
material developers and model developers with a behaviors that affect protection performance (see
benchmark to use to evaluate potential improve - Chapter 3);
ments. Benefit: controlled linkage between open and • Better computational approaches (physics-based
restricted environments and a better match between models and codes for the evolution of failure)
armor system needs and potential material solutions. coupled with new experimental approaches allowing
• Design of the material or material system is based improved spatial and temporal measurement of dam-
on an understanding of failure mechanisms invoked age evolution (see Chapters 3 and 4);
by projectiles or blast loads and uses physics-based • The ability to design material compositions, crystal
modeling and simulation of the material or mate- structures, microstructures, and composites over
rial system’s behavior or performance within the length scales from the atomic to the mesoscale to
dynamic. The design modeling and simulation of achieve behaviors that are important for protection
the material take place prior to the longer iterations performance and innovative processes that can syn-
that involve physical testing. The rapidity of model thesize and process these materials affordably (see
iterations makes it possible to explore more alterna- Chapter 5); and
tives and optimize the material to provide the desired • An organizational structure and method of dealing
behavior. Benefit: faster development of higher- with security constraints that will facilitate interac-
performance armor materials. tion and information sharing and enable successful
• A feedback loop to the armor system design flow bet- basic and applied research to accelerate the devel-
ter defines the required material behaviors. Benefit: opment of these improved lightweight protection
faster iterations than today’s make-and-shoot process materials (detailed later in this chapter).
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102 OPPORTUNITIES IN PROTECTION MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE ARMY APPLICATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROTECTION MATERIALS ballistic and blast events. This program should be established
BY DESIGN under a director for protection materials by design, with
particular emphasis on the following:
The recommendations in this section point out a way
forward that will address the challenges outlined above
• Relating material performance to deformation and
by bringing together the efforts of university researchers,
failure mechanisms. Developing models and data for
government labs, and industry to engage collaboratively in
choosing materials based on their ability to inhibit
a long-term program of use-inspired fundamental research.
or avoid failure mechanisms as opposed to choosing
them based on bulk properties as measured in quasi-
Overarching Recommendation. Given the long-term im-
static and dynamic tests.
portance of lightweight protection materials to the Depart-
• Developing superior armor materials by identifying
ment of Defense (DoD) mission, DoD should establish a
compositions, crystalline structures, and microstruc-
defense initiative for protection materials by design (PMD),
tures that counteract observed failure mechanisms
with associated funding lines for basic and applied research.
and by establishing processing routes to the synthesis
Responsibility for this new initiative should be assigned to
of these materials.
one of the Services, with participation by other DoD com-
• Reducing the cost of production of protection mate-
ponents whose missions also require advances in protection
rials by improving the processes and yields and by
materials. The PMD initiative should include a combination
enhancing the ability to manufacture small lots.
of computational, experimental, and materials testing, char-
acterization, and processing research conducted by govern-
Element 2—Advanced Computational and Experimental
ment, industry, and academia. The program director of the
Methods
initiative should be given the authority and resources to col-
laborate with the national laboratories and other institutions
The second element of the PMD initiative would be
in the use of unique facilities and capabilities and to invest
to advance and exploit the capabilities of the emerging
in DoD infrastructure where needed.
c omputational and experimental methods discussed in
Chapter 4. The first objective is to predict the ballistic
This overarching recommendation requires actions in
and blast performance of candidate materials and materi -
four important elements of the PMD initiative:
als systems as a prelude to the armor design process. The
second objective is to define requirements that will guide
Element 1—Fundamental Understanding of Mechanisms the synthesis, processing, fabrication, and evaluation of
of Deformation and Failure Due to Ballistic and Blast protection materials. The PMD initiative would develop
Threats the next generation of
The first element of the PMD initiative would be to de-
• DoD advanced protection codes that incorporate
velop better fundamental understanding of the mechanisms
experimentally validated, high-fidelity, physics-
of high-rate2 material deformation and failure in various
based models of material deformation and failure, as
protection materials, discussed in Chapter 3. As part of the
well as the necessary high-performance computing
new paradigm, armor development should be considered not
infrastructure;
from the viewpoint of conventional bulk material properties
• Experimental facilities and capabilities to assess and
but from the viewpoint of mechanisms. The deeper funda-
certify the performance of new protection materials
mental understanding could lead to the development of more
and system designs, as well as provide insight into
failure-resistant material compositions, crystal structures,
fundamental material behaviors under relevant con-
and microstructures and to protective materials with better
ditions with unprecedented simultaneous high spatial
performance. Moreover, by identifying the operative mecha-
and temporal resolution; and
nisms and quantifying their activity, mathematical damage
• Collaborative infrastructure for encouraging direct
models can be written that may allow computational armor
communication and improved cooperation between
design. Chapter 3 discusses failure mechanisms for the sev-
modelers and experimenters, through both (1) the
eral classes of materials.
establishment of collaborative environments and (2)
requirements in proposals when the specific research
Recommendation 6-1. The Department of Defense should
topic is well served by such collaboration.
establish a program of sustained investment in basic and
applied research that would facilitate a fundamental under-
The high-priority opportunities identified in Chapter
standing of the mechanisms of deformation and failure due to
4 will need sustained investment and program direction
to advance computational and experimental capabilities.
2Ballisticvelocities typically range from several hundred to several
The envisioned computational capabilities must be devel -
thousand meters per second and can lead to strain rates of up to 105 s–1.
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103
THE PATH FORWARD
oped in partnership with a strong experimental effort that • A sustained effort to develop a database of high-
identifies the dynamic mechanisms of material behavior. strain-rate materials for armor. Material behavior
These mechanisms must be understood and modeled for and dynamic properties must be measured and char-
the activity to be successful, the material characteristics and acterized over the range of strains, strain rates, and
properties must be known for the simulations to be carried stress states in the context of penetration and blast
out, and the outcomes of the computational modeling must events. Develop a comprehensive database of materi-
be validated. als that exhibit high-strain-rate behavior and consider
them as materials of interest. The PMD director
Recommendation 6-2. The Department of Defense should should designate a custodian for this database and
establish a program of sustained investment in basic and ap- arrange for experimental results of the PMD program
plied research in advanced computational and experimental to be provided to the database and shared with the
methods under the director of the protection materials by research community. The database should include
design (PMD) initiative, with particular emphasis on the ceramics, polymers, metals, glasses, and composite
following: materials in use today and should be expanded as new
materials are developed.
• Dynamic mechanism characterization. Identify and —Opaque and transparent ceramics and ceramic
characterize (1) the failure mechanisms underlying powders. The intrinsic properties of opaque and
damage to a material caused by projectiles from transparent ceramics and ceramic powders are
weapons and detonations and (2) the compositional not yet fully realized in armor systems. There is
and microstructural features of each constituent of need for understanding at the atomic, nano-, and
the material, as well as the material’s overall struc- micron levels of how powders and processing
ture. An enhanced experimental infrastructure will can be designed and manipulated to maximize
be needed to make progress in high-resolution (time the intrinsic benefits of dense ceramic armor and
and space) experiments on material deformation and reduce production costs.
failure characterization. —Polymeric, carbon, glass, and ceramic fibers.
• Code validation and verification. Focus on mul- There is an opportunity to develop finer diameter
tiscale, multiphysics material models, integrated and more ideally microstructured polymeric and
simulation/experimental protocols, prediction with carbon fibers with potentially a two- to fivefold
quantified uncertainties, and simulation-based quali- improvement in specific tensile strength over the
fication to help advance the predictive science for current state of the art. Such improvements would
protection systems. significantly reduce the weight of body armor.
• Challenges and canonical models. Periodically pro- —Polymers. In addition to polymer fibers, ther-
pose open challenges comprising design, simulation, moplastic and thermoset polymers are used as
and experimental validation that will convincingly monolithic components and also serve as matrixes
demonstrate the PMD. Each challenge problem must in various composites. Improved measurements of
address the corresponding canonical model and must and models for the deformation mechanisms and
result in quantifiable improvements in performance failure processes are needed for thermoplastic-
within that framework. and thermoset-based protection materials.
—Magnesium alloys. The very low density of
magnesium provides potential for the develop-
Element 3—Development of New Materials and Material
ment of very lightweight alternatives to tradi-
Systems
tional metallic materials in protection material
The third element of the PMD initiative is the develop- systems. The basic understanding of strengthening
ment and production of new materials and material systems mechanisms in magnesium should be advanced,
whose characteristics and performance can achieve the especially the development of ultra-fine-grained
behavior validated in modeling and simulation of the new magnesium alloys through severe plastic deforma-
armor system. The recommendations in this element target tion. Magnesium-based fibers are also worthy of
the most promising opportunities identified in Chapter 5. exploration.
• Adhesives and active brazing/soldering materi -
Recommendation 6-3. The Department of Defense should als. Development of adhesives and active brazing/
establish a program of sustained investment in basic and ap- soldering materials and their processing methods
plied research in advanced materials and processing, under to match the elastic impedance of current materials
the director of the PMD initiative program, with particular while minimizing the thermal stresses will improve
emphasis on the following: the ballistic and blast performance of panels made of
bonded armor, including transparent armor.
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104 OPPORTUNITIES IN PROTECTION MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE ARMY APPLICATIONS
Element 4—Organizational Approach
• Test methods. Advances are needed in test methods
for determining the high strain rates (103 to 106 s–1)
The fourth element of the PMD initiative is an organi-
and dynamic failure processes of (especially) fibers,
zational construct for multidisciplinary collaboration among
polymers, and ceramics. Results should be passed
academic researchers, government laboratories, and indus-
on to the designated database of materials with high-
try, in both restricted-access and open settings. The PMD
strain-rate behavior.
initiative will need strong top-level leadership with insight
• Material characterization. The characterization of,
into both the open and restricted research environments and
composition, crystalline structure, and microstruc-
the authority to direct funding and set PMD priorities. The
ture at appropriate length scales is a key task that
program will require committed funding to ensure long-term
will need more attention to take advantage of the
success and should be subject to periodic external reviews
improved experimental tools for quantifying initial
to ensure that high standards of achievement are established
and deformed microstructures.
and maintained. To meet these requirements, the committee
• Cost reduction. Advances are needed to reduce the
considered several organizational alternatives, described in
cost of producing protection materials by improving
the sections below, and concluded that the notional DoD
their processing and yield and by improving small-lot
organizational approach depicted in Figure 6-3 includes the
manufacturing capability.
features necessary for success.
• Processing science and intelligent manufacturing.
Advances are needed in basic understanding of and
Recommendation 6-4. In order to make the major advances
ability to model the consequences of material pro-
needed for the development of protection materials, the De-
cessing for performance and other characteristics
partment of Defense should appoint a PMD program director,
of interest. Intelligent manufacturing sensing and
with authority and resources to accomplish the following:
control capabilities are needed that can maintain low
variance and produce affordable protection materials,
• Plan and execute the PMD initiative and coordinate
even in relatively low volumes.
PMD activities across the DoD;
Program
Review Board
Director
$ $
Visiting
Researchers
Open PMD Restricted DoD PMD
Canonical
Collaboration Collaboration
Models
Center Center
Test Services and
Models / Codes
Universities
Other Government Labs
#...
Industry #2
Industry #1
Industry
FIGURE 6-3 PMD initiative organizational structure involving academic researchers, government laboratories, and industry.
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105
THE PATH FORWARD
• Select an existing facility to be the DoD center for director would promote collaboration among model-
PMD and fund a research director and the staff, ers and experimentalists. The center could facilitate
e quipment, and programs needed by the PMD multidisciplinary information exchange and enforce
initiative; appropriate boundaries for restricted information. It
• Award a competitive contract for an open access would have both internal facilities and remote access
PMD center whose mission would be to host and to facilities for experimentation and material charac-
foster open collaboration in research and develop- terization. It would also maintain awareness of the
ment of protection materials; open literature and global technology developments
• Establish an external review board to conduct peri- and actively enhance them and would provide input
odic reviews of programs in both centers; and to the program director and the staff of the classified
• Provide liaison with the Department of Energy, the center at DoD.
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and • An external review board, duly constituted to review
other government laboratories on matters related to programs and advise the director in the planning and
PMD. conduct of research in protection materials, both
restricted and open.
• Links to Department of Energy labs, the National
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE
Institute of Standards and Technology labs, and other
RECOMMENDED NEW ORGANIZATIONS
government labs whose research and capabilities are
relevant to protection materials research.
DoD Center for the PMD Initiative
The essential features of the recommended organization The proposed research and development program would
are as follows: require the collaboration of scientists and engineers from
DoD research laboratories, other national laboratories, uni-
• A program director for the PMD initiative who is re- versities, independent research institutes, and commercial
sponsible for planning and overseeing the execution companies in settings that can foster collaboration while
of basic and applied research in both classified and maintaining boundaries for unclassified, proprietary, export
unclassified settings. The director might be organiza- controlled, and classified information.
tionally located within the lead service for protection Given the constraints of current classification guide-
materials, the Department of the Army, but in any lines, research and development involving specific threats
event would be responsible for coordinating research and vulnerabilities will require access to a facility where
and development in lightweight protection materials restricted research and testing—that is, research that is either
across the rest of DoD. classified or otherwise not available for public release—can
• Selection by the above-mentioned program director be conducted. The committee believes designation of an ex-
of an existing DoD organization to become the DoD isting DoD organization as the lead laboratory for the PMD
center for the PMD initiative. This program director initiative would be the best way to meet this need. This open
would appoint a research director for the center and collaboration center would need to have capabilities for the
would organize funding for it. The center would be following:
staffed and equipped for classified research in materi-
als synthesis, processing, and testing, as well as com- • Materials characterization,
putational facilities to enable materials design and • Model development and simulation against real
armor design. The DoD center for the PMD initiative threats,
would have both internal capabilities and access to • Armor system prototyping, and
external capabilities as needed for advanced model- • Ballistic and blast testing and evaluation against real
ing and simulation, protection materials synthesis, threats.
processing, characterization, fabrication, ballistic
and blast testing, and evaluation of protection mate- Such capabilities exist at the Army Research Laboratory
rial systems. This organization would accommodate facility in Aberdeen, Maryland, and at other DoD facilities.
visiting researchers who would be granted security To tap the sources of innovation in academia and in-
clearances for the duration of their rotating assign- dustry, an environment for collaboration outside restricted
ments. It would also provide testing services and governmental facilities would be needed. This open research
evaluation results at both classified and unclassified community would have the following capabilities:
levels to qualified external researchers.
• An open PMD collaboration center, with a physical • Experimental facilities for dynamic measurements of
experimentation center and virtual collaboration material behavior, including in situ visualization of
links to distributed academic, government, and in- high-rate deformation and failure processes.
dustry researchers. This organization and its research • Modeling and simulation capabilities.
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106 OPPORTUNITIES IN PROTECTION MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE ARMY APPLICATIONS
• Materials design and processing design capabilities. research findings to practical application and acceler-
• Collaboration between modelers and experimental- ates research progress by cross-fertilization of ideas.
ists, supported by information sharing and virtual In supporting these team efforts, MURI comple-
collaboration environments. ments other DoD programs that support university
• An enclave where classified or restricted information research via single-investigator awards. Typically,
could be exchanged among researchers with the ap- awards cover a period of 3 years; 2 additional years
propriate clearances. are possible. This model is strong on multidiscipline
• Physical meeting facilities. and multiuniversity collaboration but is not typically
used for collaboration with industry.3
• Proximity or easy transportation access to the DoD
PMD center. • University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). This
appellation is given to university laboratories that
The key to success would be to link these two research maintain critical competencies in technology and
environments through formal organizational relationships, systems that support national defense. University
personnel exchanges, funding and program direction, and Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) are awarded as
processes to translate classified information on threats noncompetitive DoD contracts through a provision of
and materials into canonical models suitable for academic the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984,
research topics. Procedures would be needed to adapt data as codified in 10U.S.C. 2304(c)(3)(B), which au-
from the classified center for use by the open environment. thorized noncompetitive contracts with educational
institutions where necessary for DoD to establish or
maintain essential engineering, research, and devel-
Open PMD Collaboration Center
opmental capabilities. UARCs support DoD through
Of the organizational elements, the newest and most a special strategic relationship, wherein they serve
far-reaching area for investment would be the open PMD as trusted technical advisors free from commercial
collaboration center. This center would be a vibrant intellec- conflicts of interest. The requirement for maintain-
tual engine that attracts the best academic researchers across ing a UARC and its associated funding is driven
multiple organizations to address well-defined problems in by the specific needs of sponsoring DoD RDT&E
material design, high-strain-rate experimentation, analytical programs. These special needs are manifest in core
and computational modeling across the length and time- competencies, specified by the sponsors, which
scales, and materials processing for protection applications. define the scope of services to be provided by the
It could foster precompetitive collaboration with industry for UARC. The current ARL Material Centers of Excel-
both fundamental research and technology transfer. lence in Ceramics, Metals, Polymers and Composites
The key features of the open center would include these: are not UARCs but have similar characteristics. The
UARC model has to be broadened to provide the
• Academic opportunity for interesting problems, type of open competition and academic opportunity
envisioned for an open PMD collaboration center.4
funding, access to state-of-the-art facilities, up-to-
date data, workshops, and publications. • Collaborative Technology Alliance (CTA). CTAs
• Canonical models that support unclassified research are collaborations between academia, Army labs or
objectives stated in terms of material behaviors or centers, and private industry. Their goal is to rapidly
other fundamental phenomena. transition new technologies to warfighters, thereby
• Open competition for new research awards from enabling the Army’s Future Force. This partnership
both the PMD initiative and other basic and applied is at the core of the CTA concept, wherein each part-
research sponsors. ner brings a unique approach to research. Academia,
• Multidiscipline and multiuniversity collaboration. for example, brings cutting-edge innovation; ARL
• University-industry-government collaboration. researchers maintain the focus on solving complex
• Means to host visiting researchers. Army technology problems; and the industrial part-
ners are able to solve technology bottlenecks and to
The committee considered several organizational al- leverage existing research results. In this way, multi-
ternatives that might have the desired attributes of this new disciplinary research teams bring about the complex
entity, including the following: technology needed to solve the Army’s complex
problems. The program brings world-class research
• Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative and development talent to bear on meeting Army
(MURI). DoD currently uses MURI awards to support
3For more information, see http://www.wpafb.af.mil/library/factsheets/
university research that intersects two or more tradi-
factsheet.asp?id=9327.
tional science and engineering disciplines. Teaming 4For more information, see http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmfs/uarc/At -
in multidisciplinary research helps to transition basic tach_003.UARCMgmt.pdf.
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107
THE PATH FORWARD
needs for technology. The CTA model has most of • University-industry consortium models. Numerous
the desired characteristics but has traditionally been examples of university research consortia, industry
used when technology advances are driven more by research consortia, and membership organizations
market forces than by government needs, which is fall into this category. The committee considered
not the case in protection materials.5 the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research
C enters (I/UCRCs), 8 i n particular the Ceramic,
• Fraunhofer-like institute. Fraunhofer institutes origi-
nated in Germany. Affiliated centers have been Composite and Optical Materials Center at Rutgers
University,9 to be in this category. It also considered
established in the United States to perform applied
the National Textile Center,10 the Semiconductor Re-
research under contract to government and industry
search Consortium,11 and the National Warheads and
for such customers as federal and state governments,
Energetics Consortium12 as examples. Some of these
multinational corporations, and small- to medium-
sized companies. Each center is partnered with a consortia are federally funded and others operate on
major research university. These partnerships serve industry funding. A common denominator in such
as bridges between academic research and industrial consortia is a business case for industry participation.
needs. Such bridges would fill some but not all the Assuming such a business case can be made, these
government needs for the open PMD collaboration models, like the CTA model above, could meet most
center.6 of the desired criteria. The model would need to be
• Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) such as those tailored to focus on canonical models as the bridge
to the government needs.
s ponsored by the National Science Foundation
(NSF). Located at universities throughout the United
States, ERCs are a group of interdisciplinary centers The committee concluded that none of these models
that partner closely with industry. Each ERC provides would meet all the needs of an open PMD collaboration
an environment in which academe and industry can center but that the various university and industry consortium
collaborate in pursuing strategic advances in complex models have proven features that the Army could combine
engineered systems and systems-level technologies to define the contract for such a center.
that could spawn whole new industries or radically
transform the processing technologies, product lines,
Time Frame for Anticipated Advances
or service delivery of current industries. Activ-
ity within ERCs lies at the interface between the While it is always problematic to try to predict the fu-
innovation-driven culture of engineering and the ture, it is apparent that some areas are ripe for rapid progress
discovery-driven culture of science. The centers and discovery. The committee believes, for example, that
provide the intellectual foundation for industry to increased funding of basic research on high-rate deforma-
collaborate with faculty and students on producing tion of polymer fibers and ceramics could, within about 10
the knowledge base needed for steady advances in years (depending on the level of effort), achieve a level of
technology, resolving long-range, generic challenges understanding that would rival the current understanding
and rapidly transitioning results to the marketplace. of metals. Progress will be aided as national lab facilities
The academic opportunity criterion could be well met for extremely fast data acquisition during high-rate events
by incorporating ERC characteristics, but additional become available and as researchers design experiments to
features would be needed to give the government a take advantage of such facilities.
stronger role in guiding the research to meet govern-
8For more information, see http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/about.jsp.
ment needs.7
9For more information, see http://www.ccmc.rutgers.edu.
10For more information, see http://www.ntcresearch.org/mission.htm.
5 For more information, see http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.
11For more information, see http://www.src.org/about/.
cfm?page=93. 12For more information, see http://www.nwec-dotc.org/.
6For more information, see http://www.fraunhofer.org/.
7For more information, see http://www.erc-assoc.org/index.htm.
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