Illinois Rocstar was founded in 2007 with the goal of advancing high-fidelity modeling and simulation (M&S) of solid propellant rockets. Although the company has substantially broadened its business horizon over the past decade, we have never abandoned the technology needs of warfighters. Throughout the past three years, Illinois Rocstar has refined its focus on weaponeering to support the U.S. Air Force and Navy in their M&S applications.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), in concert with the Department of Defense (DoD) contractor base that includes Illinois Rocstar, has developed the “Endgame Framework” software system. Initially developed by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), AFRL describes Endgame Framework (EF) as “a vulnerability/lethality modeling and simulation architecture that provides the capability to support and integrate traditionally separate airborne, surface mobile, ground fixed, and directed energy threat analyses.” The tools associated with Endgame Framework are used to develop weapon effects simulations that are employed across DoD.
Illinois Rocstar (IR) has contributed to this broad program in three independent, but related, projects. The first, supported by AFRL, is known as EPIC/MEVA and integrated the advanced, high-fidelity physics-based hydrocode, EPIC (Elastic-Plastic Impact Calculations), into the DoD Modular Effectiveness Vulnerability Assessment (MEVA) software system. This IR initiative began in 2016 and was extended in 2017 by the Air Force for an additional two years. Our full integration includes new graphical interfaces and development of an automated mesh generation and analysis workflow to improve the overall usability of the software. The IR addition to the system lays the groundwork for future enhancements to MEVA and other EF tools by simplifying the process of integrating high-performance computational tools. Ongoing AF support for this project will enable automatic discretization of complex geometries directly from Endgame Framework/MEVA.
The “Lethality Impact Maritime Analysis” (LIMA), was a short, intense project to implement the Endgame Framework as a prototype weaponeering package for maritime structures. Advances in physics-based analysis have shown that accurate simulation results of complex weapon/target interactions can be achieved in much shorter timeframes. Traditionally, fast running tools have been used to aid mission planning; although these tools can provide quick answers, the results lack the fidelity, accuracy, and flexibility offered by physics-based models. Our interest lies in the incorporation of physics-based simulations into a faster platform. The upgraded IR platform will be paired with a more accessible user visualization interface to provide the weapon planning tools needed by warfighters that offer accurate and detailed results at the speeds of fast running tools.
The third project of this series targets integration of ALE3D, the US Department of Energy finite element package, with MEVA and Endgame Framework. The Illinois Rocstar ALE3D/MEVA toolkit also leverages EF and seamlessly enables ALE3D to incorporate MEVA functionality. IR is developing additional open-source, built-in modules and tools to facilitate direct access to the high-fidelity, multiphysics, finite element code ALE3D. MEVA end-users will be able to progressively design targeting scenarios and perform reliable, high-resolution, high-fidelity physics-based vulnerability assessments using ALE3D. The overall goal of this piece is to reduce the barrier-to-entry to high-performance, high-fidelity weaponeering across the DoD space.
Across the board, user-friendly workflows and predictive software expand the ability of the warfighter to develop high probability-of-success mission profiles through easily configured targeting scenarios. The same workflows can be used defensively to design highly secure or reliable structures, and other critical assets with the aid of state-of-the-art modeling and simulation software packages. Illinois Rocstar is building products for both.
