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MATERIALS SCIENCES LLC

Address

135 ROCK RD
HORSHAM, PA, 19044-2310
USA

View website

UEI: GKJZWMKKWWX4

Number of Employees: 77

HUBZone Owned: No

Woman Owned: No

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No

SBIR/STTR Involvement

Year of first award: 1983

148

Phase I Awards

Phase II Awards

53.38%

Conversion Rate

$14,656,239

Phase I Dollars

$63,808,872

Phase II Dollars

$78,465,110

Total Awarded

Awards

Up to 10 of the most recent awards are being displayed. To view all of this company's awards, visit the Award Data search page.

Low-Cost Sharrow Closed-Loop Contra-Rotating Rotor Set (S-CRP) - P4953

Amount: $139,992 Topic: N251-043

In an effort to reduce the cost for the expanding production for the MK54 Lightweight Torpedo (LWT) propellers and to retrofit the current inventory, the Navy is seeking to implement a novel toroidal propeller design on the aforementioned platform. Materials Sciences LLC (MSC) and its partner Sharrow Engineering propose to develop and demonstrate an improved structural design using advanced materials and low-cost manufacturing methods applied to Sharrowís novel closed-loop blade technology. Under the proposed Phase I program, MSC and Sharrow will perform iterative hydrodynamic and structural design and manufacturing trials to develop a toroidal propeller for the MK54 LWT with focus on the metrics of speed, efficiency, and quieting while simultaneously increasing manufacturing throughput and reducing costs. The proposed Phase I Base program will focus on design development and material selection with the primary deliverables being a preliminary structural design document, cost analysis for various manufacturing processes, and a geometrically representative prototype. The proposed Phase I Option will focus on design iterations, potentially with anisotropic characteristics, and manufacturing development to facilitate transition to Phase II prototype development and demonstration.

SBIR

Phase I

2025

DOW

NAVY

Domestic, Low-Cost Pitch Carbon Fiber for High Temperature Applications - P4945

Amount: $99,994 Topic: DLA25D-003

The innovation proposed under this program is development of a low-cost, high-performance PCF specifically designed for Thermal Protection System (TPS) for high temperature structure applications. The fiber will use a patented domestically sourced petroleum pitch-based precursor, developed that will allow for high producibility, capacity, affordability, and reduction in US-based supply chain risk. The PCF will be specifically formulated with superior thermal and mechanical properties for use in high heat-resistant ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and high-thermal-conductive Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites. There are currently only a limited number of commercial companies producing PCF in the world (less than five). Hence, demonstration of this technology will address current gaps in domestic PCFs, both supply and performance.

STTR

Phase I

2025

DOW

DLA

Reduced Cost Thermoplastic Composite Fabrication by Thermoforming Drapable Pre-pregs - P4954

Amount: $146,470 Topic: N251-055

Thermoformed thermoplastic composite parts can be produced in a common and relatively cost-effective way via thermoforming.Ý However, the process of avoiding wrinkles and maintaining tight tolerances can limit formability and therefore the geometric complexity of parts.Ý While a new generation of drapable ìdryî pre-pregs coupled with thermoforming processing techniques can reduce the number of steps and overall time for forming complex parts, these require a greater body of technical data and proven analysis tools tied to demonstration of representative parts in order to qualify and transition these materials for aerospace use.ÝMaterials Sciences LLC proposes to develop the technical data and an analysis toolset to facilitate fabrication of optimized complex thermoplastic composite parts. These will be guided by specialty coupon and component level studies to relate forming parameters to porosity, geometric tolerances, and mechanical properties, leading to production of a demonstration part. Such an approach requires improved methods for designing thermoplastic composites which optimize for both performance and cost, as well as an approach to expedite the qualification of such materials by using an enhanced understanding of thermoforming effects on material behavior to enable reduced effort and accelerate adoption of this technology in aerospace and other industries.

SBIR

Phase I

2025

DOW

NAVY

Acoustically Transparent Underwater Curing Adhesive - P4952

Amount: $146,498 Topic: N251-027

The United States Navy is seeking a material for underwater repair of damage to sub-sea arrays that are encapsulated in polyurethane or other elastomers.Ý The material must be nearly impedance-matched to seawater so that it does not attenuate or reflect acoustic signals, and must be able to cure underwater exceeding 40 pounds per linear inch (pli) of adhesion to various substrates.Ý The material must also be able to bring the damaged surfaces to their original fairness specification to avoid generating turbulent flow noise. ÝThe material needs to be capable of preventing biofouling by sea life, which would also generate significant signal loss and turbulent flow.Ý Materials Sciences and our polyurethane formulation partners have demonstrated near acoustically transparent formulations that will cure underwater with good adhesion, and have been filled with antifoulant materials.ÝMSC will carry out a development program to formulate, characterize and demonstrate that these materials can be engineered to meet the Navyís needs for long-lasting underwater repair of encapsulated sensor arrays.Ý

SBIR

Phase I

2025

DOW

NAVY

Topology Optimized Metamaterials via AM of Refractory High Entropy Alloys for Extreme Temperature Deployment - P4955

Amount: $146,479 Topic: N251-069

Hypersonic vehicles demand innovations in component manufacturing with high-temperature materials to survive extreme environmental conditions while retaining performance. Novel alloys are needed to reach use temperatures beyond current Nickel-based superalloys. Refractory alloys offer promise for higher operating temperatures but must maintain a balance of high specific strength, creep, and oxidation resistance to enable adoption. Materials Sciences and the University of Pittsburgh are developing an additive manufacturing process for a refractory multi-principal-element alloy (RMPEA) with superior properties above 1000C. The process will be paired with the design and optimization of a metamaterial, comprised of topology optimized lattice structures, to reduce weight and cost, and increase the overall specific strength via volumetric performance.Ý

SBIR

Phase I

2025

DOW

NAVY

Methodology for Predicting and Testing the Onset of Matrix Damage in Fiber Reinforced Composites under High Cycle Fatigue Loading - P4888

Amount: $693,517 Topic: N231-054

The Department of the Navy (DON) has issued a broad agency announcement as part of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program soliciting methods for better understanding high cycle fatigue in composites. Typically, fatigue design allowables rely on testing either a single component to multiple design lives or testing a large number of smaller coupons and sub elements to a single design life. Both these solutions take a significant amount of time to complete and for designs with long design life (greater than 109 cycles), these solutions can take decades to complete. In order to fully utilize the benefits of composites, quicker methods for understanding their high-cycle fatigue response must be developed. MSC has previously developed and validated computational tools to evaluate damage in composites under repetitive loading events. However, validation has not been completed for fatigue at cycles on very high orders of magnitude (109 cycles). During this effort, MSC will develop and demonstrate methods to complete fatigue tests up to 109 cycles while maximizing the load rate and thus minimizing the total test time. For example, the R.R. Moore Rotating Beam Test has been the standard solution for high cycle fatigue in metals. By completing one cycle of loading with one rotation of the beam, cycling can be driven with a motor at speeds upwards of 10,000 RPM, resulting in 600,000 cycles per hour. MSC will leverage the pedigree of the R.R. Moore Rotating Beam Test to devise similar approaches for high-cycle fatigue evaluation of composite materials. During these high-speed loadings, MSC will also determine methods to observe changes in stiffness of the specimen, which are a result of internal matrix damage within the composite. One method is the use of embedded fiber optic strain sensors. These sensors can be embedded into a laminate and are able to monitor stiffness changes in real time during testing. During this effort, MSC will demonstrate fiber optic stain sensors for low cycle and high load fatigue testing and determine the initiation of damage within the specimen. This data will be used to validate and verify the computational tool set, and this approach will then be repeated for longer high-cycle fatigue testing.

SBIR

Phase II

2025

DOW

NAVY

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) Risk Toolset - MSC P4804

Amount: $596,653 Topic: N221-030

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers a potential “game-changer” for low-cost, fast turn-around fabrication of Navy components. Combined with methods such as reverse engineering metrology, AM can produce low batch on-demand quantities, which is ideal in the case of repair/replace Navy components that were damaged in the field or inserting a new design for lightweighting or performance enhancements. Wide-spread implementation of AM structures has been limited, however, mainly due to its lower maturity compared to conventional materials (metals, composites, plastics). There exists no single software application that implements the Navy’s qualification procedure. However, each exists separately, making it difficult to connect them together to get a clear picture of the risk of using the given AM process versus the original method. Consequently, it is very difficult to qualify any AM parts for naval use and limits the Navy’s ability to take advantage of this growing field of manufacturing. This proposal will build a tool that will walk users through a series of simulations that compare an AM part’s performance to its legacy variant, and determine how much risk is associated with AM replacement. The proposed tool will consist of three major modules. The first module, part performance M&S, will consist of a battery of tests geared towards the Navy’s qualification process, along with a database of materials, typically in base/AM pairs. The second module will perform optimization to improve the performance of the AM part given its design environment. The third module, risk assessment, will bring together multiple parallel runs of the part performance M&S module and information from a database about a given AM process and material. The risk assessment system will consider the AM part variant for a series of manufacturability checks, compare the simulation and database data against a set of risk metrics, and reduce these datapoints to a single number by weighting them and summing them together to represent the overall risk associated with switching to the AM part.

SBIR

Phase II

2025

DOW

NAVY

Efficient On-Aircraft Composite Repair Process Requiring Minimal Support Equipment - P4450

Amount: $1,924,965 Topic: N161-017

Under this Phase II SBIR program, Materials Sciences Corporation (MSC) and our manufacturing partner Seemann Composites Inc. (SCI) are proposing to leverage our extensive expertise in the field of composite marine structural design and fabrication to transition the successful findings of our Phase I effort, into the development of a comprehensive ōStructural Repair Manualö for the various composite components on the NavyÆs next-generation Air Cushioned Vehicle (ACV) platform, the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC). Our teamÆs primary goals for this Phase II effort are two-fold; to deliver the Navy the knowledgebase and documentation required to successfully execute a range of damage assessment and repair activates for any anticipated SSC Composite Component damage scenarios and to refine and demonstrate the ability to execute high-quality, in-situ repairs using the ōComposite Repair Kitö approach initiated under Phase I.

SBIR

Phase II

2024

DOW

NAVY

Radar Absorbing Material Maintainability Improvements - MSC P4803

Amount: $1,184,446 Topic: N221-049

The Department of the Navy (DON) has issued a broad agency announcement as part of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program soliciting proposals for the development of materials and/or processes addressing existing deficiencies related to lifespan and performance of radar absorbing materials (RAM) for the DDG-1000 class surface warship. Targeted RAM tile applications are intended to reduce ship susceptibility to radio frequency (RF) threats and enable unique DDG-1000 mission sets but existing materials are showing premature, in-service failures and delamination typically concentrated around the thin, outer-most “Environmental Layer” of the multilayered tile. This Environmental Layer (EL) is intended to maximize RF transmission into the underlying absorbing materials while also providing those materials with abrasion, moisture ingress, chemical, and flame resistance and protection. Its recurring failure poses a major survivability risk to the DDG-1000 mission. In addition, there is an urgent need to build a domestic manufacturing base that facilitates expanded production capacity and accessibility to proven, customizable material solutions that have potential multi-agency / multi-platform application. An exponential increase in production scale and efficiency will be required to accelerate dielectric material access for future ships and craft programs in the event of emergency mobilization. Access to these materials will be critical both in meeting increasingly stringent signature and susceptibility requirements while also reducing attrition risk of in-service signature-capable platforms over the duration of a potentially prolonged, future near-peer conflict. The approach identified by Materials Sciences LLC (MSC) focuses on the industrialization of a proven Government Off the Shelf (GOTS) polyurethane (PU) based “Protective Coating” (PC) material system that is currently being implemented on Navy platforms. This manufacturing scale-up will leverage polyurethane processing equipment currently residing at MSC’s production facility in Greenville, SC in order to produce customizable variations of the GOTS material in sheet/roll-stock material forms versus the low-rate casting and spray-up methods currently used to date. These alternative material forms will enable a direct substitution for the DDG-1000 EL application with a serviceable, proven maritime alternative. It should be noted that while the base-formulation and overarching material approach have been Government-Developed, MSC is proposing to leverage that approach while modifying and optimizing the formulation to facilitate high-rate production while also meeting the DDG-1000 requirements established in the solicitation.

SBIR

Phase II

2024

DOW

NAVY

Hybrid Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing and Friction Stir Processing for Manufacturing and Repairing 7075 Aluminum Components - MSC P4876

Amount: $179,985 Topic: AF241-0008

Materials Sciences LLC (MSC) in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh (PITT) proposes to develop a method to repair Launcher Rail Bodies that meet part strength requirements and enables additive manufacturing for aluminum Al7075-T6 repairs. To mitigate technical risk, MSCÆs significant experience in advanced materials and structural modeling, analysis, and design and the production of launcher rail body components will be paired with PITTÆs experience in AM processing and optimization. The teamÆs extensive knowledge of material development and wide range of repair experience reduce technical risk for this unique method which will be designed to meet strength requirements for aluminum 7075-T6. In order to achieve the desired mechanical performance of AM Al7075 that has never before been realized, the team proposes to employ a hybrid wire-arc DED, friction stir processing (FSP), and milling method to both repair and manufacture Al7075 components.Ā The key innovations of this approach include:Ā i) the hybrid method can refine the grain structure in wire-arc DED deposition, enhancing the material strength/ductility and enabling more precipitation along the grain boundaries via T6 post heat treatment; ii) the method can homogenize the microstructure and heal microcracks/pores in the wire-arc deposits, especially in the heat affected zone (HAZ); iii) the method is implemented as a standalone system which can be employed to perform both repair and manufacture of Al7075 components.Ā The research plan is to conduct process development to minimize porosity and microcracking as well as optimize the material microstructure to attain at least 70% of the tensile properties of conventional Al7075-T6.Ā

SBIR

Phase I

2024

DOW

USAF