TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: The AN/BVS-1 (Photonics Mast) is an ACAT III Program. ISIS is an ACAT IV.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a shock sensitive circuit breaker that would open based on a pressure pulse and electrically disconnect equipment, simplifying the Grade B shock-certification process.

DESCRIPTION: Equipment on US Naval Ships must survive when subjected to shock events. Shipboard equipment fall into three shock categories: Grade A, Grade B and Grade C. Systems that meet Grade B shock qualification are required to pose no threat to other Grade A equipment or personnel upon exposure to pressure waves; this includes both electrical and fire safety. The Navy can demonstrate mechanical safety through analysis, but must perform tests to determine the potential for electrical or fire hazard. This testing is costly, time consuming, and requires a one-use expenditure of equipment.

If a circuit breaker could open when sensing a pressure pulse of approximately 600g, then power would be cut to the equipment, eliminating the potential for a fire or electrocution event. The circuit breaker would need to be sized for integration into standard 19" wide Navy Shipboard equipment racks. The circuit breaker would need to meet current Navy requirements including vibration, thermal, pressure, noise, and atmospheric control, and not become a hazard itself (see reference documents). Development and implementation of a circuit breaker that performs in this fashion would eliminate the need to evaluate dedicated test assets.

Innovation would be applied to the circuit breaker's logic which would determine if a pressure pulse was of sufficient magnitude to cause harm to the downstream electronics, but also eliminate false alarm tripping when subjected to pressure pulses below that of the Grade B shock event.

PHASE I: Develop a conceptual design for shock sensitive circuit breaker that would trigger upon sensing a pressure pulse.

PHASE II: Design, Fabricate and test a prototype of the circuit breaker designed in Phase I. Testing must be performed under real world atmospheric conditions, including performing as intended when subjected to MIL-S-901D shock testing.

PHASE III: If successfully demonstrated in Phase II, develop and install devices in current Navy shipboard systems as technology insertion.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Transportation - could be used as an electronics "kill-switch" during a collision.

REFERENCES:
1. MIL-S-901D (Navy), "Military Specification, Shock Tests, H.I. (High Impact) Shipboard Machinery, Equipment and Systems, Requirements for" dated 17 March 1989 (Approved for public release, unlimited distribution)

2. MIL-STD-1399 (Navy) Section, "Electric Power, Alternating Current" dated 24 April 2008 (Approved for public release, unlimited distribution)

3. NRL Report 7396, "Shipboard Shock and Navy Devices for its Simulation", dated July 14, 1972 (Approved for public release, unlimited distribution)

4. Mil-STD-740-2 (SH), "Structure borne Vibratory Acceleration Measurements and Acceptance Criteria of Shipboard Equipment, dated 30 December 1986, (Approved for public release, unlimited distribution)

5. MIL-STD-167, Mechanical Vibrations of Shipboard Equipment (Type I-Environmental and Type II-Externally Excited), dated 2 November 2005, (Approved for public release, unlimited distribution)

6. MIL-STD-810F, Department of Defense Test Method Standard For Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests, dated 1 January 2000, (Approved for public release, unlimited distribution)

KEYWORDS: Navy Shock; Mil-S-901D; Shock Grade B

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