CTMA Project #: 140439, 140456
Problem: Thin-walled components (common in nearly every military platform) are often over-engineered or buttressed with thicker metal reinforcements to handle the thermal load of conventional MIG and TIG joining. These countermeasures add significant unwanted weight to the platform and also increase the corrosion prone weld filler regions that results from conventional welding.
Benefit: DRW stands alone as a solid state welding technique that creates true metallic bonds that are of the same general metallurgy of the components to be joined, but, with the added benefit of being twice as strong due to its unique, overlapping interface geometry and its excellent resistant to typical weld joint corrosion.
Solution/Approach: This project seeks to develop and test a new solid state joining method called Deformation Resistance Welding (DRW) that does not melt the materials to be joined thus increasing dimensional accuracy, corrosion resistance, and weld cycle time.
Unlike conventional MIG or TIG welding, DRW employs an engineered “sliding” motion across the interfaces to be joining that collapses the bond surface asperities, under modest pressure and temperature (induced by simultaneous resistance energy), increasing the real area of contact and creating an excellent solid state bond.
Phase I redesigned the upper portion of the HMMWV cab structure to incorporate a DRW welded spaceframe which extended to the mid point of the B pillar.
Phase II seeks to leverage on the knowledgebase gained during Phase I but extend the design to a spaceframe which will completely replace the vehicle cab structure. Phase II will also incorporate an armored V hull design to improve underbody blast protection.
Impact on Warfighter: This fully organic capability not only ensures reduced external costs, but also ensures rapid utilization time necessary for urgent repair or fabrication programs.
DOD Participation:
- U.S. Marine Corps (Albany)
- U.S. Army (TARDEC)
- U.S. Marine Corps (PEO Land Systems)
- U.S. Marine Corps (PM Light Vehicles)
- U.S. Marine Corps (PM HMMWV)
Industry Participation:
- GraviKor
- SpaceForm
- Pratt & Miller Engineering
- NCMS
