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An Innovative In-Flight Refueling Probe Component that Eliminates Accidental Overload of the Mast Assemble During Air Refueling
Navy SBIR 2009.2 - Topic N092-111 NAVAIR - Mrs. Janet McGovern - navair.sbir@navy.mil Opens: May 18, 2009 - Closes: June 17, 2009 N092-111 TITLE: An Innovative In-Flight Refueling Probe Component that Eliminates Accidental Overload of the Mast Assemble During Air Refueling TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Ground/Sea Vehicles ACQUISITION PROGRAM: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation. OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate an innovative In-Flight Refueling probe that eliminates stress overload during aerial refueling. DESCRIPTION: All receiver aircraft that utilize the Probe and Drogue must be protected against potential stress overload that may occur during the Air Refueling process. Malfunctioning tanker refueling equipment, excessive input load from the receiver or hose whip effects, which may occur during a normal air refueling operation, can create stress overloads that are transmitted via the hose to the receiver probe, resulting in damage to the hose, probe, drogue or all of the above. All platforms currently protect against permanent and catastrophic deformation by utilizing a break-a-way component between the applied load and the airframe structure. Thus, when the high (limit) load is reached the ‘weak link’ will detach to protect the aircraft. The ‘weak link’ can be designed into the mast itself (i.e. the mast will break before damage to the aircraft occurs) or, in the case of the F-35/Joint Strike Fighter, can be a dedicated design component that is installed between the nozzle and the mast assembly. The problem is, these detachable components are a source of Foreign Object Damage (FOD) and, if ingested into an engine intake, will likely cause an engine failure. The goal of this SBIR is to research and develop an in flight refueling probe that is "flexible" in nature so as to absorb the loads applied through the hose, without fracturing or breaking away, thereby eliminating a source of FOD. Current "state of the art" in refueling is a probe that is extremely rigid so that it will transfer the loads through it to the airframe without breaking during normal loading. Additionally, a frangile point is designed in to break/fail at a given ultimate (overload) value, to protect the airframe from a significant overload event. The problem with this approach is that extremely high load values are still passed through the probe into the airframe, requiring large and heavy components in both the probe and the airfame, and a major source of FOD is created when the refueling probe breaks (a common event). Researching and thoroughly understanding the loads transferred through the refueling hose to the probe will allow the design of a flexible refueling probe. This is not simply a re-engineering effort of the existing probe, but an entirely new approach to aerial refueling probe design, where the probe would be designed to absorb the loads applied to it, without transferring significant loads to the supporting structure, and dampen the loads in the refueling hose. Additionally, this would prevent the need for a frangible location in the refueling probe, thus eliminating a source of FOD during the refueling event. By creating a point to absorb the loads during a refueling event, we could potentially eliminate the broken refueling hose event, and increase the overall safety of the aerial refueling event by an order of magnitude. PHASE I: Research (test, modeling, simulation, analysis) the stress loads transferred from the tanker to the receiver, and vice versa, in an overload situation. Document the critical loadings. Develop an innovative concept that will be flexible to protect an aircraft platform against excessive stress loads to an air refueling probe assembly by dissipating those loads without detaching from the probe mast assembly. PHASE II: Develop, optimize and demonstrate the approach formulated in Phase I. Evaluate the concept through the fabrication and testing of a sufficient quantity of test articles to verify the design concept. PHASE III: Perform validation and certification testing to transition the approach to the Joint Strike Fighter and additional applications as appropriate. PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL: The commercial tanking industry would benefit from the development of this technology. This is a growing industry that uses contractor owned aircraft to provide aerial refueling services to the military and military support contractors. REFERENCES: 2. MIL-A-8865B, Military Specification Airplane Strength and Rigidity Miscellaneous Loads 3. MIL-C-81975B, Military Specification, Coupling, Regulated, Aerial Pressure Refueling 4. Joint Service Specification Guide, 2001 and 2009 Appendix F; STANAG 3447. KEYWORDS: Air-Refueling; FOD; Overload; Hose-Whip; deformation; Risk Reduction
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