N112-148 TITLE: Versatile Shallow Water Anchoring/ Securing Technology

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Seabase FNC

OBJECTIVE: Develop an automated system for shallow water anchoring/ securing suitable for use in all bottom conditions encountered by U.S. Navy (USN) craft. Furthermore, it is desirable that one system meet the requirements of all anchoring and securing needs rather than requiring a ship or craft to carry multiple anchoring/ securing systems to meet the varying bottom conditions. It is also desirable that the proposed solution works with the shortest possible scope of anchor line.

DESCRIPTION: Anchoring a large structure such as a floating pier along a shoreline is a time consuming and labor intensive procedure. Training and experience is required for personnel to anticipate a dangerous anchoring situation. Failure of anchoring hardware or failure on the part of the crew to exercise the proper judgment to avoid such a situation usually results in a costly property and life threatening incident. This is particularly true in shallow water conditions near shore. Therefore, an innovative solution is needed to develop a semi-autonomous or even fully autonomous anchoring system that:
� reduces the number of personnel required in the anchoring process,
� reduces the number of bottom-condition-specific components,
� reduces the amount of training required for those involved in the anchoring process and,
� removes the liklihood of error while at the same time speeds the process of anchoring and securing.

The current state of the art for automated mooring systems deals more with vessel mooring to a pier rather than anchoring.

Shallow water anchoring and securing systems have evolved very little over the past century, with developments often involving modifications of the shapes of previously-known anchors. The basic features of modern anchors have been in use for over 2,000 years. As such, most systems involve a large weight with some configuration of one or more flukes, hooks and cups. Common types of modern anchors used in shallow water environments include the stockless, the lightweight and the mushroom. Each of these types of anchors is generally preferred over the other types based on the bottom conditions. For example, the fluted anchors are preferred for hard bottom conditions, such as rock and coral, whereas the mushroom anchor is preferred for use in soft bottom conditions, such as sand, silt or mud. Smaller vessels that may encounter both hard and soft bottom conditions must carry two or more types of anchor devices. Use of an improper anchor may result in failure to secure the vessel in place, resulting in significant risk to the vessel and its crew. Additionally, environmental damage, such as to coral, may also occur as a result of anchoring when the large weight of the anchor impacts the coral or other waterborne natural formations. The ecological impact of the proposed automated or semi-automated system (s) shall be minimal.

In recent years, a number of different types of materials, compounds, and compositions of matter have been developed, many of which have found applications in fields other than anchoring technology but could provide a significant technological advantage in anchoring technology.

To achieve semi-autonomous or fully autonomous anchoring capability, the proposer is encouraged to make use of developments in robotics as well as other technologies that potentially may be applied to anchoring. Both sensing technology to assist in the characterization of the bottom condition and to select the placement of anchors as well as remote actuation technologies to set the system in place with minimal involvement of personnel are seen as enablers for anchoring system automation and to achieve the desired result of an anchoring technology suitable for use in both soft and hard bottom conditions. Part of the function of the automated system shall be to assess the wave and current conditions to determine the number of anchors and relative positioning required to safely anchor a selected vessel or structure in the environment.

Besides automation, proposers can explore non-traditional anchoring mechanisms such as a bio-mimetic surface adhesion approach.

Key factors to be addressed include degree of automation and methods proposed, environmental damage, need for multiple anchors, material weight, deployment and retrieval time, deployment and retrieval system complexity (chain, cable etc.), compatibility with shortened scope configurations, maintainability and cost. The desired solution should provide increased versatility of the anchoring or securing device while reducing the personnel and labor-hours required as well as the other disadvantages of historical anchors.

PHASE I: Develop an innovative concept for semi-automated or fully automated shallow water anchoring technology and assess feasibility of the concept in terms of holding strength, deployability, retrievability, endurance, longevity, and environmental impact.

PHASE II: Establish performance parameters through experiments and prototype fabrication of anchor/ securing technologies. The proposer should provide "technology off-ramps" where valuable concepts could proceed into full developments even though the primary, overall concept is not successful or desirable for some reason.

PHASE III: Demonstrate anchor/ securing technologies in an operational environment.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL: Applicable to private and commercial vessels and near-shore facilities.

REFERENCES:
1. Standard Safety (2008). Anchoring, Special Edition, downloaded 13 November 2010 at: http://www.standard-club.com/docs/StandardSafety-Oct08.pdf

2. European Patent EP1-873-052-B1 entitled Automatic Mooring System, downloaded 13 November 2010 at: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP1873052.html

3. Northwestern University (2007). Synthetic Adhesive Mimics Sticking Powers Of Gecko And Mussel. Science Daily, 18 July 2007, downloaded 13 November 2010 at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718140750.htm

4. U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (2004). An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Chapter 21, PRESERVING CORAL REEFS AND OTHER CORAL COMMUNITIES, 20 September 2004, downloaded 13 November 2010 at: http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/full_color_rpt/welcome.html

5. Cutler, T. (2002). The Bluejacket�s manual, United States Naval Institute, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, pp. 314 and 424

KEYWORDS: Automtion;Anchor; Bottom conditions; Shallow water; Mooring; Floating Structures

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between April 26 and May 25, 2011, you may talk directly with the Topic Authors to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting May 26, 2011, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

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