STF Technologies LLC

We Propose an Innovative Hybrid Composite Material Containing Shear Thickening Fluid (STF) Energy Absorbing Layers (SEALS) That Provides Superior Impact Protection and Novel, Self-healing Functionality to Prevent Leakage After Impact. the Proposed Innovation Directly Addresses the Need for Thin, Lightweight, Impact-resistant Composite Materials That Can Be Fabricated in Complex Geometries for Next-generation Space Suits. the Proposed Phase Ii Research Leverages Successful Phase I R&D and Extensive Composite Materials and Space Suit Expertise of Our Partners to Advance Commercialization and TRL of Impact-resistant, Damage-tolerant Seal-composites Innovation to Produce a Prototype Suit Component Suitable for System-level Integration and Testing. in Phase I It Was Shown That the Seal-composites Provide Significantly Improved Impact Properties and Weight Savings VS. Leading Conventional Composite Materials From the Z-2 Prototype. Futhermore, Seal-composites Impart Self-healing Functionality to Mitigate Air Leakage If Damaged. the Phase Ii Objectives and Work Plan Follow a Logical Sequence to Test and Downselect Improved Seal-composite Materials, to Develop and Validate a Computational Model and Conduct Model-based Design Optimization, to Develop High-fidelity Test Methods, to Refine the Manufacturing Process to Make Aerospace-grade Seal-composites, and to Deliver a Validated Suit Prototype Component Made From Seal-composites. Further, We Will Leverage Synergistic Environmental Protection Garment (EPG) Research Being Conducted at STF Technologies and the University of Delaware to Perform System-level Development and Optimization of the Seal-composites Combined With Emerging, State-of-the-art Epgs. Overall, the Proposed Phase Ii Will Produce a Validated Seal-composite Prototype Suit Component Meeting the Needs for Improved Impact-resistance and Damage-tolerance to Offer Superior Astronaut Protection in a Wide Range of Future Martian and Lunar Surface Eva Scenarios.