Noncontact thickness measurement and optical inspection systems maker Lumetrics (Rochester, NY) has been awarded with a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the Army Research Lab (ARL; Adelphi, MD) to ensure the quality development of transparent armor (TA) products, such as ballistic and blast-resistant glass.
TA products protect active-duty personnel, so manufacturing quality, consistent material composition, and material longevity are critical. The goals of this SBIR program are to assess the manufacturing quality of new TA windows, predict the failure of existing TA, and extend the service life of TA.
Lumetrics’ role in the project is to advance their multispectral low-coherence measurement interferometer (MS-LCI) by combining it with machine vision and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, which will detect and predict material degradation and delamination. Advanced integrated solid-state multiwavelength light sources will increase the sensitivity of the MS-LCI technology. Real-time simulations of TA materials will also shed light on root cause failure and possible remediation methods.
The highly tuned sensing technology will provide new approaches to predict TA failure, test TA manufacturing processes, and ultimately create new manufacturing methods that increase TA’s longevity.
Lumetrics’ two-year contract begins in September 2021 and ends in July 2023.