SBIR-STTR Award

Hybricon Corporation, along with Engineering Technology Center (ETC), proposes to develop a cost effective generic electronic enclosure containing a card chassis and power supply module that meets the naval ship borne mechanical, electrical and environmental requirements and provides adequate cooling and EMI protection. This enclosure will support new and existing COTS VME electronic card formats across multiple platforms. The baseline requirements for the enclosure will be determined via a detailed survey of current applications and new projects on or targeted to naval ship borne environments. Key technical requirements will be identified and documented, including but not limited to input power available, function card utilization, mounting space available, 1/0 cable usage, shock and vibration levels, acceptable noise levels, and heat load. Using our proprietary modeling and simulation software for signal integrity, heat flow analyses and ETC's structural and acoustic modeling expertise, we will evaluate the applicability of several design approaches. The conceptual design model will lead directly to the compilation of a design matrix for COTS vendor components and candidate suppliers. As part of the Phase I Option, Hybricon proposes to fabricate the conceptual model to validate the design leading directly to Phase II.

Benefits:
This research will provide a cost effective, highly reliable enclosure design that can be easily reconfigured to meet the diverse power supply and cooling requirements resulting from the use of COTS VME function cards. In addition, the research will develop and couple several very innovative designs including DC variable speed controlled fans with thermal sensors, maximum cooling air flow with minimal noise generation, and inexpensive passive noise control. The resulting design matrix will permit rapid selection of the enclosure components needed to match the resulting enclosure with the intended application needs (military or commercial).

Keywords:
COTS Modular design noise attenuation adequete cooling shock isolation highly reliable cost effective easily reconfigured

Hybricon Corporation, along with the Engineering Technology Center (ETC), proposes to design, build, and perform environmental qualification testing on a prototype electronic card chassis. The goals of this prototype chassis are to be a cost effective generic electronic enclosure capable of supporting VME, VME64 Extension, and CompactPCI function cards. The enclosure will contain a card chassis, backplane and power supply modules that meets the naval shipboard mechanical, electrical, and environmental requirements while providing adequate cooling and EMI protection. This enclosure will support new and existing COTS VME electronic card formats across multiple platforms. The shipboard requirements will be reviewed to ensure design compliance and current production units will be tested to benchmark the acoustic performance of the VME chassis. Signal integrity and heat flow analysis will be evaluated using Hybricon's proprietary modeling capabilities. ETC will utilize its acoustic, shock, and vibration analysis expertise to model and evaluate the chassis design. A complete set of CAD fabrication drawings will document the design. Hybricon will fabricate four (4) chassis to be installed in a multi-chassis enclosure and one chassis to be installed in a standalone, single chassis enclosure. Environmental qualification testing of both chassis applications will be conducted and the results, design drawings, and recommendations will be included in the Phase II Final Report.

Benefits:
The research and development to be performed will produce a cost effective, highly reliable electronic card chassis enclosure design. It will be easily reconfigured to meet the diverse power supply and cooling requirements required by todays and tomorrows COTS VME function cards. In addition, the research will validate the innovative concepts developed in Phase I such as: modular power generation/distribution, variable speed controlled DC cooling fans with thermal sensors, maximum cooling air flow with minimal noise generation, and inexpensive passive noise control. The resulting prototype chassis will illustrate design improvements that can be utilized in multiple shipboard applications as well as commercial market sectors such as telecommunications and process control.

Keywords:
Highly Reliable Modular Design COTS VME Noise Attenuation Adequate Cooling Shock Isolation Cost Effective Easily Reconfigured