A Fail-Safe Reusable Forward Closure System

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I effort will demonstrate the feasibility of a fail-safe reusable Forward Closure System (FCS) for use in underwater launch tubes. The proposed FCS will be reusable, fail-safe, scalable, capable of withstanding pressures, and have an opening time on the order of milliseconds, while protecting a payload from exposure to sea conditions. Multiple actuation methods and sealing methods will be designed, analyzed, and evaluated. The objectives of this effort are to: 1) Design reusable FCS concepts, 2) Evaluate the FCS designs through analysis, modeling, and simulation, 3) Perform a trade study for down selection, 4) Demonstrate that the requirements are met, and 5) Demonstrate operability to sub-scale laboratory bench testing. By successful completion of the project, a fail-safe reusable FCS design will be delivered along with analysis, simulations, and bench-testing results to show the feasibility for use in underwater launch tubes.