SBIR-STTR Award

In an effort to achieve the United States Department of Navys long-term strategy to modernize the fleet, improve readiness, reduce maintenance costs, and improve warfighter safety, Figure Engineering proposes the design and development of an autonomous Collective Protection System (CPS). The CPS is an HVAC system designed to filter Navy personnel from airborne chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) threats in contained shipboard environments. However, current technology requires manual data logging and system interfacing, and fails to integrate CBR detectors to the CPS. Figure Engineerings autonomous CPS solution, based on a technology known as Advanced Continuous-Time Adaptive Ventilation (ACTAV), which was developed by Figure Engineering for the Air Force, will provide continuous and thorough protection of the ships force without the time and attention that the current CPS requires. Variable speed drives (VSDs) enable efficient use of the CPS HVAC system, and automating the control of those VSDs is Figure Engineerings specialty. The Autonomous CPS will exhibit one critical way that automation will drastically improve the Navys capabilities and modernize the fleet for future generations to come.

Benefit:
Figure Engineerings Autonomous Collective Protection System (CPS) provides numerous benefits for the Navy, other DoD branches, and eventually the commercial market. First, it will ensure that watch standers and other Navy personnel are freed from data logging tasks, thus enabling them to focus on more complex challenges that face the crew daily. Secondly, the automation of variable speed drive (VSD) control provides rapid response, potentially saving the lives of many onboard. Thirdly, more comprehensive sensor outfitting will provide greater visibility on system health and environmental trends. Since preventative maintenance is a crucial way to ensure meeting a ships deployment objective, system health is an important metric. This can prolong service life overall and optimize usage of consumables, saving the Navy millions of dollars.

Keywords:
Autonomy, Autonomy, Chemical, CBR, Autonomous, Biological, Collective Protection System, CPS, Radiological

In this SBIR Phase II, Figure Engineering will develop a Collective Protection System (CPS) Variable Speed Drive (VSD) Expansion technology that will modernize the U.S. Department of Navys (DON) shipboard CPS, which is responsible for protecting the crew from chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) threats. Legacy CPS technology is simply on or off and provides no information to the crew in the Central Control Station (CCS), so situational awareness is not available unless a sailor visits each CPS zone to confirm in-spec operation. Additionally, if components fail or a fan room were to flood, the crew would be completely unaware sometimes for weeks or months. CPS VSD Expansion will provide accurate and current data from sensors and provide additional sensor information as necessary to facilitate higher situational awareness and preventative maintenance. Furthermore, the VSD capability will enable a multi-mode operation to reduce fan speed when CBR threats are not present. This will lead to approximately 60% reduction in CPS energy consumption and prolong component life, therefore reducing lifecycle cost for the Navy and improving fleet readiness.

Benefit:
CPS VSD Expansion will improve situational awareness and centralize CPS control, facilitate preventative maintenance so that the ships force are not at risk of CBR exposure if a CPS component fails, reduce energy consumption thereby extending range and lowering operating cost, and improving component life by reducing wear. For Naval ships such as LPDs and other amphibious vessels that operate a much leaner crew, reducing CPS-related tasks by centralizing information and system control improves safety not only for the crew but for Marines and other warfighters temporarily onboard to execute missions.

Keywords:
LPD17, Variable Speed Drive (VSD), Chemical Biological Radiological (CBR), Collective Protection (CPS), Modernization, readiness, amphibious