Ship Mechanical Systems facilities

Advanced Shipboard Machinery Development Facility

West Bethesda, MD

This facility is dedicated to the test and evaluation of reduced scale and full scale advanced naval propulsion and auxiliary systems, equipment, and enabling technologies. It comprises laboratories for the development, rapid prototyping, and demonstration of: advanced turbomachinery, refrigeration and ventilation systems including collective protection systems, shipboard hydraulics systems and equipment, seals and bearings, composite machinery, submarine shaftline components, and small diesel engines. It also houses a test area to conduct cyclic displacement and pressure fatigue tests of piping and piping components.

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Test Facility

West Bethesda, MD

The Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Test Facility supports Surface and Undersea Vehicle Auxiliary Systems and Components T&E;, Acquisition, ISE, Environmental and Logistics. Materials and Processing RDT&E; for surface and submarine ship classes. Materials and components investigated at these facilities include: alternative CFC’s, air conditioning and refrigeration, ventilation, oxygen generation and air purification systems for surface ship and submarines.

Boat House

Panama City, FL

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Small Craft Branch is responsible for providing at-sea support for research and development projects conducted by the Station. Due to the diverse and sometimes unusual nature of Station's projects, craft of various capabilities are assigned. Historically, the branch has operated solely for Station project use and limited use as passenger transfer service to ships in our operation area. Five craft including two 65' long range twin screw diesel powered work boats, one 33' diesel powered multi-role work boat capable for use as a dive platform, and two 25' twin outboard powered Whalers are utilized as project guard and chase boats for high speed operations. Three outboard powered craft and one oil skimmer craft are assigned to the Station for oil spill recovery in an area from Fort Walton Bay bridge eastward to the Apalachicola River and extending 30 miles inland for recovery of government spills only. All branch personnel are trained in oil recovery procedures and equipment operation annually. Major contamination spills require additional Station personnel as a labor force. The division also provides limited port services for visiting ships and provides limited electronics repair and communications support.

Boiler Components Test Facility

West Bethesda, MD

The Boiler Components Test Facility supports surface machinery propulsion auxiliary machinery system and component RDT&E; and In Service Engineering for numerous ship classes. Typical components and/or tests performed include: combustion optimizers for fuel efficiency, gas analysis systems for environmental compliance considerations, smoke indicator systems, burner systems, control systems, fuel oil control valves, strainers, fuel oil pumps, boiler water level indicating systems and newly designed boiler refractory.

Cargo/Weapons Elevator Land Based Engineering Site

West Bethesda, MD

The Cargo and Weapons Facility consists of a suite of full scale and component test facilities contiguously located in building 77H. The site was constructed in 1987 to address and solve the technical problems encountered from the diverse population of these systems in the Fleet (i.e., over 600 different types of elevators, 21 different capacities, 250 different designs and 64 different manufacturers). It includes: a full scale, 6 story Cargo/Weapons Elevator Land Based Engineering Site, a vertical package conveyor test site having three shipboard type conveyors, temperature and humidity controlled machinery, electrical control and power unit rooms and modular layout to facilitate shipboard configuration and other testing that is cost prohibitive at sea.

Combatant Craft Department

West Bethesda, MD

The Combatant Craft Department (CCD) has performed full life-cycle and full-spectrum support for combatant craft and boats from its facilities located in the Hampton Roads area since 1967. With facilities near the largest and most varied inventory of DoD and boats and craft in the United States, CCD supports the U.S. Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Special Warfare/Special Operations, Air Force, Coast Guard, and other DoD and non-DoD activities including private industry.

Cryogenics Rework Facility

Lakehurst, NJ

Provides unique overhaul, repair and retrofitting for cryogenics SE for the fleet and Navy Inventory Control Point (NAVICP) customers. Capabilities include specialized testing, certified welding, vacuum insulated tank repair, hydrostatic testing and engine overhaul.

Electrical Power Technology Facility

West Bethesda, MD

This laboratory supports the development of advanced shipboard machinery control and electric power distribution and solid state conversion technology. It contains multiple sources of electrical power (single or three phase voltages under 600 volts, variable frequency from 60 to 400 Hz, and direct current up to 900 volts) to simulate and test various ship system conditions for solving fleet problems with new equipment or technology. Among the diverse uses of the laboratory are: development of advanced power generation and distribution components; system performance assessment; computer simulation of large machinery systems and development of control algorithms; development of advanced sensors and instrumentation; development of advanced power conversion topologies and advanced semiconductor device application up to several hundred kilowatts; development of submarine power-conditioning equipment for improved power quality and reduced submarine radiated noise; development of high power and pulsed power distribution systems and components; and development of innovative electrical distribution system or component designs for reduced noise. This facility is also used to assess advanced technical capabilities for meeting future Navy weapon system needs.

Ex-USS Shadwell Advanced Fire Research Ship

Washington, DC

Fleet Material Readiness

Keyport, WA

Principal provider of Fleet material support, modernization, and industrial technology, including the preventive and corrective maintenance of undersea vehicles. Modernization and upgrade of components in these products focuses on improving performance, reducing required maintenance, and reducing testing required for new product acceptance. We exploit leading-edge industrial technology and custom engineering to support the R&D community in prototype development and testing.

IR Systems

West Bethesda, MD

IR Systems consist of two portable, calibrated infrared measurement systems that nominally operable in the 3-5 and 8-12 micron bands. Each lens system is capable of operating either land-based and ship or helicopter mounted for rapid collection of test data. The systems are typically used to make IR measurements of ships, craft and wakes

Life-Cycle Systems Supportability

Keyport, WA

Principal provider for life-cycle support of Fleet deployed systems. Systems supportability includes engineering and logistics for products, services, and processes introduced in the Fleet. We focus on increased system capability, reliability, effectiveness, efficiency, availability and ease of maintenance; with the goal of reducing Navy costs of ownership and operation.

Survivability Test Facility

Newport, RI

The Survivability Test Facility, located in NUWCDIVNPT Buildings 114 and 113, has over 23,000 square feet of specialized laboratory space dedicated to survivability and environmental testing of submarine and surface ship sonar electronic and mechanical systems, submarine electromagnetic communications and ESM systems, submarine and surface ship weapons systems, submarine and surface ship launcher systems, submarine and surface ship countermeasure systems, and submarine combat systems. This modern facility supports measurements of the mechanical parameters of sonar equipment and the properties of materials used in underwater mobile and deployed sonar arrays research and development programs. Functional support areas include: Sonar Systems, Special Sensors, Weapons, Countermeasures, and Sub-Surface Combat Systems Integration. The facility houses large embedded pressure vessels specifically designed for testing coiled towed array sonar sensors; large vibration and shock test machines with associated, embedded seismic masses; and room-size, walk-in temperature and humidity chambers. In addition, there is a full spectrum of dedicated computer-controlled instrumentation and analysis equipment available to support the acoustics array combat system, and weapons testing nature of the facility. Also included is a Materials Measurement Laboratory (B-113) specializing in the determination of the properties of a myriad of sonar and weapons related materials. This laboratory supports the Materials Technology Sphere of Excellence. The facility is capable of conducting a broad range of tests ranging from individual, specialized experiments for various projects to full Military-Specification environmental qualifications.

Undersea Vehicle Sail and Deployed Systems Facility

West Bethesda, MD

The Undersea Vehicle Sail and Deployed Systems Facility supports the technical capability for in-service engineering, full scale test and evaluation, research/design support, acquisition and life cycle engineering for undersea vehicle sail and deployed system Hull, Mechanical and Electrical equipment.