Solid Propellent Environmental Effects Digital Twin

SBIR topic DAF27BZ02-NV015 (U.S. Department of Defense – Air Force), Phase I and II. Open to U.S. small businesses. Opens: December 2, 2026. Closes: January 6, 2027. Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) provide propulsion for many critical defense applications including surface launched, air launched, ballistic, and space vehicles. The propellant that creates acceleration through these SRMs is a complex active material that can be sensitive to environmental effects from thermal loads, exposure to air or humidity, chemical changes, pressure, or vibration loads due to time or ingredient changes. Both mechanical response characteristics and ballistic properties can be affected. This topic requests projects that will combine computational modeling and design capability from several sources to simulate aging responses due to environmental effects. The framework must follow Modular Open Systems Approach standards mandated in 10 U.S.C. § 4401 for compatibility with several commercially available computational tools such as ANSYS, ABAQUS, Python, MatLab, SysML, and others. Official solicitation: https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/