Wireless Technology for Submarine Communication Systems

Weidlinger Associates, with John J. McMullen Associates and Leitner Lifts USA, will develop a high volume underway replenishment system. Several innovative circulating ropeway approaches will be investigatedWeidlinger is responsible for the overall management of the SBIR effort and provides expertise in structural design, analysis of dynamic systems, and cable design and inspection. The performance of the cables in a marine environment and the dynamic andfatigue issues will be addressed.McMullen provides expertise for issues associated with ship architecture, including design and evaluation of the onboard equipment and components associated with the UNREP system, personnel and operational issues associated with the operation of thesystem, and compatibility of the system with other requirements of the delivery and receiving vessels.Leitner provides expertise on rope transport systems pertinent to the design, assessment and construction of the system and test models.The candidate approaches include a Simple Mono-Cable Rig, a Modified Mono-Cable Rig, a Bi-Cable Send / Mono-Cable Receive Rig, a Single Bi-Cable Rig, and a Dual Bi-Cable. The team will use a formal trade study process to evaluate the alternatives usingweighting criteria developed with input from the Navy. One or two rigs will be selected for further development.As the size and capability of commercial marine vessels increases, one would expect an increased civilian demand for enhanced replenishment capability. Also the potential development of new sending, supporting, transporting and/or receiving componentscould find application in commercial funicular applications. Finally, adaptive technology has the potential to increase the range of commercial applications for circulating ropeways (for example, transferring loads and people directly from ships to tops ofmountains and cliffs). There are potential applications for replenishment systems for drill ships and drill barges as well as floating production, storage and offloading systems, mobile offshore drilling units and undersea pipeline systems and risers.