Portable
Chlorinator
Problem: Biological growth in seawater firemains and
cooling systems can completely foul the pipes and result in loss of system capability and
requires expensive cleaning. Warm water environments accelerate the process.
Solution: MTTC, with Naval Research Laboratory and
GeoCenters, Inc., designed, built and tested a portable device that chlorinated the
seawater systems. A significant reduction in bio-fouling was documented with only
single-source protection. |
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Benefits
Estimated Navy
Cost Avoidance:
Minimum annual:
$500 K
Minimum 15 Year:
$7,500 K
Fleet Impact: Seawater
system acid cleaning requires that the ship be taken off-line for several weeks and costs
over $250 K. Fouling also causes degradation and failure of serviced weapon systems when
adequate cooling is not achieved. Ship and weapon system reliability will be greatly
enhanced when bio-fouling is eliminated. |
Status:
Complete
Based on the results
of these single-point tests, the Navy has determined that complete coverage, using
multiple chlorinators per ship is warranted. Under separate funding the U.S. Navy plans to
procure additional units, based on this project design, and install on a ship for an
extended test period.
Applications
Include:
All ships
home ported in warm-water locations.
All ships deploying
to warm-water locations.
Fleet will procure
rotating pool of chlorinators to cover above ships. |