DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office seeks submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of accelerated materials testing and prediction for concrete.
The goal of the Resilient program is to develop and demonstrate an integrated system capable of achieving >1,000x acceleration of concrete aging, with results that are mechanistically consistent with real-world degradation data. This will enable accurate, risk-based service-life prediction for critical infrastructure. This system is comprised of two core, co-developed components with the objective to deliver a validated, physics-informed predictive framework capable of forecasting long-term concrete performance:
- Scalability Model – an advanced, physics-informed, multi-scale modeling framework. Purpose is to understand the fundamental mechanics of degradation and
predict how micro-scale damage will evolve into macro-scale structural failure over time. - Material Accelerator – a physical, scalable, testing platform. Guided by the Scalability Model, it subjects concrete coupons to the precise, synergistic, and accelerated
stressors required to rapidly generate high-fidelity data.
This closed-loop approach, where the model guides the experiment and the experimental data refines the model, will enable accurate, risk-based service-life prediction for critical
infrastructure.
Resilient will be a two phase program of up to 24 months:
Phase 1 – Base – up to USD$1M over 12 months – focused on the design and fabrication of a benchtop Material Accelerator and initial development of the scalability model; establish a clear and quantifiable correlation between the accelerated degradation mechanisms observed in the accelerator and historical baseline data.
Phase 2 – Option – up to USD$1M over 12 months – refining the Material Accelerator to achieve higher acceleration rates; expanding the test matrix to include additional concrete formulations and environmental conditions; validating the scalability model with increase vigour; demonstration of integrated system on at least two distinct concrete formulations across two simulated environments.
This call is issued under The DARPA Program Announcement for Disruptioneering – DARPA PA-25-07.
Abstract proposals are due 9 September 2026.
Documents
Disruption Opportunity – Resilient – DARPA-PA-25-07-04
Disruptioneering Program Announcement – DARPA-PS-26-127-Amendment-01
