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TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER TP-601: Revolutionary High Torque, Light Weight Electric Motor. Lynx Motion Technology Corporation, an MTTC partner company, has developed a revolutionary new electric motor. This motor’s specific torque has been demonstrated to be nearly 10 times that of conventional motors and is linear with applied motor current. Conversion efficiency is also significantly higher than other devices. The United States Navy has an immediate requirement for lightweight, high-power motion control systems onboard ships for a variety of applications. Thus far, over twenty potential Lynx motor/generator applications have been identified onboard aircraft carriers. As a first step in demonstrating the motor’s benefits to the Navy, Lynx is installing the motor on the warping capstan onboard the USS Nimitz. Other potential near-term Navy applications for this motor include:
In most applications, the cost of the Lynx motor would be less than the annual maintenance costs of the current system! The U.S. Army is interested in the Lynx motor for the chin turret of the Apache helicopter, and for the Gearless Tank Turret program. The Air Force is interested for the Advanced Strike Fighter program, and the Lynx motor could also replace the hydraulic system for moving the swing wings on the B-1B bomber. Commercially, the Lynx motor can be used for:
The MTTC has been testing the Lynx motor at its facility, and has showcased the
important CoC and commercial applications for this technology. TP-608: Bio-Cat Knockdown Fire
Extinguisher. This enzyme-based product from Applied Surface Technology, Inc. (AST),
another MTTC partner company, extinguishes hydrocarbon fires by reacting with the
hydrocarbons to make them non-flammable. Unlike the currently used foam product (AFFF),
Knockdown’s firefighting action cannot be negated by wind or other factors that can
disrupt the smothering action of foam. Furthermore, Knockdown renders hydrocarbons
environmentally benign, a major advantage for spilled gasoline and oil slicks. Through
MTTC’s efforts, the Navy is examining this product for fighting fuel fires and
cleaning up fuel spills onboard aircraft carriers and has conducted demonstration
experiments using the product. The Air Force will be evaluating it in their search for a
replacement for halon fire extinguishers, and the Army is enthusiastic about its use in
both military and civilian firefighting, as a replacement for AFFF. Water and sewer
departments have also seen the potential of this product in cleaning up fuel spills and
even the toxic residue of AFFF, while preventing contamination of local water supplies. TP-609: RBC-2000 Radiant Barrier
Coating. This AST product is a paint-on ceramic-based coating that gives an insulation
value of R17 at a thickness of 0.015 inches. In addition to commercial applications, the
Navy, Army, and Air Force have all expressed an interest in RBC-2000 because of its
space-saving and insulating qualities. The United States Marine Corps is evaluating
RBC-2000 for engine compartment insulation on the AAAV, and Boeing has applications
involving composite ducting on aircraft. MTTC has recently presented this product to the
U.S. Air Force, who are evaluating applications. TP-615: Electro Fin E-Coat. A
third AST product is a process for depositing an electrocoated epoxy layer throughout all
portions of a radiator or other heat exchanger. The advantages of Electro Fin over
competing processes is that it uses epoxy rather than acrylic for additional protection,
and the size of AST’s coating tanks allow complete radiators to be coated in one
process. Electro Fin is generating considerable interest in the Navy for prevention of
shipboard corrosion. TP-614: "Joggles" in
aluminum stringers. Aluminum skin-and-stringer construction is widely used by the
aerospace industry. In this type of construction, the stringers must often contain a
change of cross section (a "joggle"), such as a raised or flattened region, in
order to optimize strength and weight or to provide clearance for other stringers. Joggles
are usually created by a two-step process: form the stringer, then form the joggle. This
approach not only costs extra money, but results in residual stresses that distort the
stringer and prevent meeting tolerance specifications. Roll Forming Corporation of
Shelbyville, Kentucky, an MTTC participant, has invented a process for creating joggles,
in which the joggles are formed as part of the initial roll forming process for the
stringer itself. Not only is this process more economical than current procedure, but the
Roll Forming process produces joggles which meet the tighter tolerance limits
that have been imposed by the aerospace industry. MTTC has identified both military
agencies and defense contractors who are interested in helping Roll Forming pursue this
technology in production. The benefits to both Government and industry are dimensionally
accurate stringers and lower cost stringer construction methods. TP-602: Electro Slag Surfacing
(ESS). ESS is a weld resurfacing process for applications that require superior
corrosion or wear resistance properties. The process uses a strip electrode to deposit a
metallic coating on a metallic substrate, and varies from the commercial submerged arc
welding (SAW) process in that ESS is an arcless process. Instead of an arc, the strip
electrode and the base metal are melted by resistance heating, which is caused by current
flowing through a shallow molten pool of electrically conductive slag. This results in a
high deposition rate with low dilution of the base material. The U.S. Navy has already
qualified the ESS process for cladding ship propeller shafts. The MTTC is working to
develop commercial applications for this process in steel rolling, aluminum rolling, and
coal mining industries. TP-603: "Cold Gas" Low
Temperature Thermal Spray Process. This new "non-thermal" thermal spray
method, developed in Russia, deposits metallic coatings on ceramic, glass, or metal
substrates by directing a high-velocity gas jet, containing powdered metal particles at
temperatures close to room temperature, through a supersonic spray nozzle, then onto the
desired substrate. Unlike all other thermal spray processes, cold gas spray does not melt
the material being deposited. A major benefit of this process is that there is no reaction
between the coating and the substrate. This property caused the Navy to consider cold gas
spray for manufacturing or repair of catapult pistons on aircraft carriers, and research
in this and other Navy-related areas is now being carried out at the Navy’s Surface
Engineering & Manufacturing Technology Center (SEMTC) at Penn State University. MTTC,
who first alerted SEMTC to this process, is evaluating cold gas spray for commercial
applications such as repair of molds, dies, and diesel pistons. For additional information about projects involving technology transfer, contact Dick Gilbert or Dave
Goddard at (502)367-2186. |
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