SBIR-STTR Award

The QED teams design approach comprises a rapidly deployable breakwater, causeway and anchoring system. The study focuses on the systems integration of these elements with emphasis on delivery means and installation to meet the 48 hour readiness objective. This study builds on the QED teams experience designing, fabricating, deploying and testing similar systems over the past fifteen years. The output of the Phase I study includes a defined CONOPS for the total system, conceptual designs of the primary components and procedures for storing, handling, deploying and recovering components at sea and/or from a shore site considering a range of environmental conditions and littoral situations. The conceptual designs will be supported by hydrodynamic and engineering analysis of various system configurations considering extreme environmental conditions and mooring loads. Specific research and evaluation will be conducted on unique materials for components including marine growth resistant elastomer coated fabrics, advanced fabric bonding and module-to-module attachment techniques. The Phase I tasks deliverable items include a CONOPS study report, a preliminary system concept study report and a final study report, each supported by oral presentations. A Phase I option to prepare test plans for Phase II is also included in the proposal.

Benefit:
Expeditious means to move vehicles and materiel ashore in austere port/river locations. Rapidly establish a protective breakwater and set up a temporary causeway in elevated sea states and surf conditions without access to fixed port facilities. Easily transportable and rapidly employable and recoverable with minimum resources to establish temporary breakwaters and causeways and small logistics footprint. Movement of commercial supplies and equipment within commercial shallow harbors, coastal fishing villages, and rivers. Sea state mitigation to support off-shore oil derrick construction, maintenance, and protection. Commercial industry support to natural disaster relief following hurricanes, coastal storm surges, and tsunamis. Movement of commercial goods by spanning or crossing mudflats and tidal estuaries.

Keywords:
Anchoring System, Anchoring System, Lightweight Modular Causeway, Rapidly Installed Breakwater,

Under the Phase I program the Quantum Engineering Design, Inc (QED) team comprising, QED as prime contractor, Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC), Alion Science and Technology Corporation (AST) and Kepner Plastics Fabricators, Inc (KPF) as subcontractors, submitted a Final Report which defined a broad approach for meeting the need for rapidly installed breakwaters and causeways to emplace a temporary port in a littoral area. Reference 1 also included a description of ways and means of providing protection and sea-state mitigation for offshore Sea Basing operations using adaptations of the proposed rapid port enhancement system components. In addition, a method of enhancing ship-to-shore logistics throughput employing a combination of these components along with the independently developed wheeled version of the Container Lifting and Maneuvering System (C-LMS) was also presented. The overall system concept was called the Advanced Breakwater And Causeway Ultramarine System (ABACUS). The Phase II program is designed to test and evaluate these systems at large model scale and where appropriate, at full-scale.

Benefit:
Expeditious means to move vehicles and materiel ashore in austere port/river locations. Rapidly establish a protective breakwater and set up a temporary causeway in elevated sea states and surf conditions without access to fixed port facilities. Movement of commercial supplies and equipment within commercial shallow harbors, coastal fishing villages, and rivers. Sea state mitigation to support off-shore oil derrick construction, maintenance, and protection. Commercial industry support to natural disaster relief following hurricanes, coastal storm surges, and tsunamis. Movement of commercial goods by spanning or crossing mudflats and tidal estuaries. Easily transportable and rapidly employable and recoverable with minimum resources to establish temporary breakwaters and causeways and small logistics footprint.

Keywords:
floating platforms, Container Lifting and Maneuvering, Rapidly Installed Breakwaters, Causeways