N101-066 TITLE: Hull Contamination Measurement

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: VIRGINIA Block 4

OBJECTIVE: This topic seeks to identify and demonstrate a surface contaminant measurement technique that can be adapted to a ship construction environment.

DESCRIPTION: The current state-of-the-art of submarine hull surface contamination measurement is limited to a test for one known contaminant known as amine bloom. This test consists of 3 chemical swatches, about 2 cm^2 each, applied over an area of hull about 10 m^2, resulting in an area sampling of a less than a mere 0.01% of the entire ship's hull for only one contaminant. To further exasperate matters, this amine bloom test has been know to give false negative results, i.e. giving results of no amine bloom when amine bloom is actually present on the hull. There are no tests for other contaminants like vacuum-pump oil or silicone.

A high speed, accurate method of checking for surface contaminants, like lubricants and amines, would allow focused treatment of areas and allow better use of paints and coatings. A surface contamination measurement method should be adaptable for use in an industrial environment of the shipyard, be able to cover large areas in excess of 30,000 square feet, yield accurate results and provide precise location of the contaminants for targeted cleaning.

The proposed hull contamination measurement system must possess the following attributes:

1. Indicate the presence of the following contaminants:
1.1. Amine
1.2. Vacuum Pump Oil
1.3. Silicone

2. Accuracy:
2.1. 100% detection of contaminant areas of 100 cm^2 or greater
2.2. At least 50% detection of contaminant areas between 2 cm^2 and 99.9 cm^2

3. Sampling area:
3.1. At least 1 m^2 for hull diameter of 10 m or more
3.2. At least 0.5 m^2 for hull diameter from 4 m to 9.99 m
3.3. At least 0.1 m^2 for hull diameter from 1 m to 3.99 m

4. Area Coverage Rate:
4.1. No more than 15 seconds for 1 m^2 for hull diameter of 10 m or more
4.2. No more than 15 seconds for 0.5 m^2 for hull diameter from 4 m to 9.99 m
4.3. No more than 15 seconds for 0.1 m^2 for hull diameter from 1 m to 3.99 m

5. Manning:
5.1. Require no more than 2 people to operate

6. Operation:
6.1. Hand-held display indicating contaminant
6.2. Indication of contaminant type
6.3. Locate contaminant within sampled area to within 5 cm

7. Weight Restriction:
7.1. Less than 5 kg for hand held sensor
7.2. Less than 50 kg for remote processing or powering equipment

8. Size Restriction
8.1. Less than 0.01 m^3 for hand held sensor
8.2. Less than 2 m^3 for remote processing or powering equipment

9. Shock
9.1. Hand held sensor survive 2 m drop without damage
9.2. Remote processing and powering equipment survive 20 Joule impact without damage

PHASE I: Conduct feasibility study on the methods to indicate the surface presence of amines, vacuum pump oils, and silicone. Make recommendation on method to pursue in Phase II.

Exit Criteria:
1. Identify physical processes that could be used to develop a non-contacting test device.
2. Survey industry and identify the potential suppliers of the components to construct the test device.

PHASE II: Fabricate a prototype test device based on the study of Phase I. Demonstrate the performance capabilities of the prototype to locate contaminants in a controlled laboratory environment.

Exit Criterion:
1. Indicate presence of contaminants 10 cm^2 on flat surface.

PHASE III: Develop industrialized prototype and demonstrate in the shipyard environment.

Exit Criterion:
1. Demonstrate that the 9 requirements under Description are satisfied.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The contaminant detector has broad applications to areas of manufacture that have difficulty maintaining the clean environment required to apply paints and coatings.

REFERENCES:
1. Burton, Bruce L., "Amine –Blushing Problems? No Sweat!", The Society of Plastics Industry Fall 2001 Epoxy Resin Formulator’s Meeting.

2. Elcometer 139 ABC Amine Blush Check Kit Operating Instructions, Doc No. TMA-0294, Issue 01, Text with Cover No. 18718, 2006, Elcometer Instruments Ltd.

3. O’Malley, C.L., J Simser, and C.M. Pravlik, "An Ounce of Prevention … The reliability of Field Methods for Detecting the Presence of Amine Blush on Epoxy Coatings," PACE 2005 Conference.

KEYWORDS: Surface Contaminants; Adhesion

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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