NSRP Names R&D Project Grant Recipients

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) announced Tuesday that its Executive Control Board has selected nine major research and development projects to be awarded grant money as part of the Program’s effort to reduce costs associated with U. S. shipbuilding and ship repair.

These new projects, valued at approximately $12 million in both Navy funding and industry cost share, were among those proposed in response to a June 2012 Research Announcement.

The award recipients are as follows:

Title: All Platform Affordable LED (APALED) Lighting
Team: Energy Focus, Inc.| Ingalls Shipbuilding | Electric Boat | University of Akron
Objective: Develop, build and test an all-platform light-emitting diode (APALED) lighting system, with the goal of creating a “New Best” solution for replacement of the Navy’s 2-bulb fluorescent fixture.

Title: Evaluation of Integrated Cold Electrode (ICE) Welding Technology for Enhanced Productivity and Distortion Reduction
Team: BMT Fleet Technology Limited | Marinette Marine | NASSCO | ESAB | American Bureau of Shipping | Defence R&D Canada | Government of Canada IRAP
Objective: Utilize recent technological advancements in integrated cold electrode (ICE) technology to improve productivity rates and reduce the construction costs of both commercial and naval vessels in US shipyards.

Title: Reducing Cost of Welder Training via Intelligent Video Tools
Team: Bollinger Shipyards | Vigor Shipyards | Newport News Shipbuilding | Visible Welding | Applied Thermal Sciences
Objective: Develop and demonstrate a cost-effective, real-time, arc-tracking video system that will improve the speed and effectiveness of welder training and qualification, increase first-time success in qualification testing, and reduce overall costs.

Title: Open Architecture System Design for Modularity
Team: General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems | NASSCO
Objective: Develop a conceptual design and implementation plan for Electronic Modular Enclosures (EMEs) with application to medium to small ships (LCS, LSD, OPC) during new construction and modernization activities.

TItle: Improved Advanced Watertight Door Finalization Program
Team: Penn State Applied Research Laboratory | Marinette Marine | AERO NAV Laboratories | Southwest Research Institute
Objective: Develop a commercially available product from the prototype Improved Advanced Watertight Door (IAWD), through the completion of remaining qualification tests and drawing packages.

Title: Improved GMAW on Primed Steels Aluminum and Cupro-Nickel Alloys
Team: Applied Thermal Sciences, Inc. | Vigor Shipyards | NASSCO | Bollinger Shipyards
Objective: Develop improved parameter sets for shipyard applications of Pulsed Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW-P)Â to allow higher quality and higher speed welding.

Title: Implementation of Sustainment Technologies for the Ohio Replacement Class Submarine to Reduce Total Ownership Cost and Increase Operational Availability
Team: Electric Boat | Penn State Applied Research Laboratory
Objective: Design an imbedded submarine performance and health management systems for components common to Virginia and Ohio Replacement Submarines with the goal of reducing total ownership cost of the submarine fleet.

Title: Development of National Maritime Welder Training Program
Team: Bollinger Shipyards | Ingalls Shipbuilding | BAE Systems SE Shipyard | Electric Boat | NASSCO | CDA Technical Institute | Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | American Welding Society | Edison Welding Institute | Gatekey Engineering | Hepinstall Consulting Group | Vicky Dlugokecki | National Association of Manufacturers
Objective: The objective of this project is to improve the quality of welder education by working with a consortium of Gulf Coast area institutions to develop a stackable certificate program that provides growth opportunities and accurately addresses welder training issues in the shipbuilding and maritime industries.

Title: HiDep Weld Tfillet and Butt Weld Development
Team: Bollinger Shipyards | Electric Boat | Ingalls Shipbuilding | Gunderson Shipbuilding | N.A. Tech, Inc.| Gatekey Engineering | Miller Electric Company | Hobart Brothers Company
Objective: Utilize computer modeling of the heat flow and weld shape to design and develop induction coils, with the goal of reduced distortion and rework and increased welding speed and productivity.

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