SBIR-STTR Award

The demanding cleaning requirements for deck surfaces aboard aircraft carriers present unique challenges in cleaning effectiveness and expense/resource management. The current method contributes to premature wear of the non-skid deck coating and hazardous waste problems. The resulting premature non-skid wear from the current deck cleaning method has caused mission interruption due to the need to re-apply skid coating mid-deployment. Equally, the large amount of oil/soap contaminated water becomes a significant issue in the area of hazardous waste disposal. Triverus LLC proposes a progressive, rapid development approach to solving the problem using advanced computer solid modeling combined with accurate assumptions of the deck cleaning requirements. During Phase I, a Low Pressure Water Jet (LPWJ) vehicle prototype will be designed in principle that will capitalize on existing technology in order to solve the premature wear problems as well as greatly reduce hazardous waste disposal requirements. A pressurized hot water cleaning jet will be substituted for the existing mechanical brush removal. An effluent recovery and water recycle system will reduce net water usage during cleaning while minimizing the amount of hazardous waste to process. The net effect of such a machine will be effective cleaning while meeting waste recovery and disposal requirements. Work performed will lay a modular design foundation that will lead to development of like products scaled for environmental cleanup, shipboard tank cleaning, or large vehicle washing systems.

Phase II prototype evaluation of the Mobile Cleaning Reclaim and Recovery (MCRRS) concept culminates the project goal of developing an effective deck cleaning vehicle for operation aboard aircraft carriers. The innovation and the enabling technology for the vehicle is a cyclone based integrated wash water recycle system. The recycle system is instrumental in the vehicle’s meeting a 10,000 ft2/ hr cleaning rate requirement while using very little water for cleaning and producing a very low environmental disposal footprint. Phase I work established the feasibility for this technology and a general prototype description was formulated for phase II implementation. Phase II analysis of this technology integrated into a carrier-centric form factor will allow full examination of the concept in a realistic operations environment aboard aircraft carriers. Efficiency measurements will be performed based on oil-water separation and solids-water separation. The results will be compared with effluent discharge and vehicle performance requirements. The recycle system along with the rest of the vehicle will be evaluated using actual conditions of service. Analysis results and refined manufacturing data form Phase II work will be a solid foundation for Phase III commercialization of the technology. Benefit Upon implementation of this technology the Navy will realize readiness, safety and cost benefits. These benefits include elimination of shipboard soap use for Scrubex, Corrosion reduction by means of eliminated salt water spray down, Man-hour reduction by dramatically improving cleaning efficiency and cleaning rate, and improved readiness due to a maintaining non-skid cleaning cycle rather than longer period 'restoration' cleaning events that characteristically disturb flight operations. Foreign Object Damage (FOD) reduction effort will also benefit by using the Mobile Cleaning Reclaim and Recovery (MCRRS) closed-cycle vacuum reclaim system due to the systems’ capability of removing solids and liquid contaminates from the deck surface. The reclaim-recycle functionality will also aid in reduction of water usage, waste disposal and improve the current environmental discharge 'footprint' for Aircraft Carrier deck operations. The vehicles ability to remove and safely contain contaminates add to the application potential in the commercial areas of airport ramp cleaning, and large hangar cleaning markets. Keywords MCRRS, Flight Deck Cleaner, cyclone, recycle, POL, Closed Loop, FOD, Non-skid