A Charge Prediction Tool for HSU-based Suspension Systems

Impact Technologies, with its partners; Georgia Institute of Technology and General Dynamics Amphibious Systems (GDAMS), propose to develop a Hydro-pneumatic Suspension Unit (HSU) Maintenance Support tool in support of initial production deployment of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV). Building upon demonstrated Phase I STTR program accomplishments, the project team intends to both significantly increase the breadth of the HSU Maintenance Support prototyped in the Phase I program, as well as institute due technical and software development rigor to ensure a TRL 7 deliverable at the completion of a 27 month (9 Quarter) Phase II program. Specifically, the development team will utilize data from dedicated EFV suspension maintenance tests and consulting support from GDAMS to mature the capability to accurately estimate HSU gas charge setting in-situ; that is, without the need to remove the EFV track and put the vehicle on jack stands as is currently required and therefore greatly reducing potential EFV maintenance downtime. Furthermore, suspension diagnostic capability will be prototyped which would be valuable to reduce troubleshooting burden for the suspension system. The EFV Suspension Maintenance Support Software (SuMSS) tool will be developed to commercial standards with well documented requirements specifications and comprehensive qualification testing. The Phase II program is designed to yield a straightforward and licensable HMS product for installation on Maintenance support laptops with platform embedded deployment as a spiral opportunity and will culminate with beginning of a User’s assessment/deployment trial to support EFV LRIP.