Self-Contained Automated Vehicle Washing System with Microwave Decontamination

Combat vehicles must be completely decontaminated to eliminate threats to the health and safety of military personnel. This necessitates a portable, field deployable, self-contained, and automated washing system. Key to the performance of such a system is an automated conveyor for moving heavy vehicles, and a system to decontaminate solids removed from recycled wash water. The objective of this proposal is to develop and test a modular heavy vehicle conveyor system and a Microwave solids decontamination system that will operate at the capacity required in a Self-contained Automated Vehicle Washing system with Microwave Decontamination (SAVWMD). CHA Corporation has developed and field demonstrated microwave water decontamination technology. CHA Corporation has also developed microwave air and solid decontamination technologies. OctaFlex Environmental Systems developed and field demonstrated the Containerized Assembled Wash-down Facility (CAWF). CHA Corporation’s experience with microwave decontamination technology combined with OctaFlex’s vehicle washing and water containment experience gives this team a clear advantage over exisiting technologies. During Phase I the engineering design for a portable washing/decontamination unit combining the CHA and Octaflex systems was developed and the solids decontamination system and vehicle conveyor will be part of a full sized vehicle washing system.