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Manufacture of Light Weight Corrosion Resistant Ti-6Al-4V Deck Components for USVs Using Very Low Cost Raw Materials in a Rapid Manufacturing Process

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N65538-09-M-0068
Agency Tracking Number: N091-047-0694
Amount: $70,000.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N091-047
Solicitation Number: 2009.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2009
Award Year: 2009
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2009-06-17
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2009-12-24
Small Business Information
7960 S. Kolb Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85706
United States
DUNS: 147518286
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Roger Storm
 Senior Vice-President
 (520) 574-1980
 jcwithers@mercorp.com
Business Contact
 Raouf Loutfy
Title: Senior Vice-President
Phone: (520) 574-1980
Email: mercorp@mercorp.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

The Navy has a need to reduce the weight of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to improve their operational efficiency. Many of these vessels have an Al hull and supporting structures. While Al alloys have a low density, their strength is very low. The high strength to weight ratio of titanium alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) would allow a significant reduction in thickness which would translate to a significant weight savings. However, the cost of Ti64 structures produced by conventional manufacturing is prohibitively high. In this program, MER will establish the value of manufacturing Ti64 deck components by the PTA additive manufacturing process, resulting in a weight savings of >600 lb. Rather than using commercial Ti64 welding wire at a cost of $60/lb as the feed stock for the PTA process, MER will utilize a very low cost powder derived from Ti sponge powder at a cost of

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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