FEASIBILITY STUDY TO DEVELOP A JOAP COMPATIBLE PORTABLE OIL ANALYSIS SPECTROMETER

SPECTROMETRIC OIL ANALYSIS HAS BECOME A PROVEN AND EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE TECHNIQUE. HOWEVER THE SIZE, COST AND ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY OF THESE INSTRUMENTS HAVE PRECLUDED THEM FOR USE IN REMOTE LOCATIONS OR ABOARD NAVAL VESSELS. AS A CONSEQUENCE, OIL SAMPLES ARE SENT TO CENTRAL LABORATORIES FOR ANALYSIS WHICH OFTEN LIMITS THE VALUE OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED. DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS A PARTIAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF ON-SITE OIL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND FIELDING OF A NEW MOBILE OIL ANALYSIS SPECTROMETER. ALTHOUGH IT IS MOBILE, MEETS THE PREREQUISITESOF PRODUCING DATA WHICH CORRELATES TO EXISTING DATA BASES, AND OPERATES SUCCESSFULLY IN NONLABORATORY ENVIRONMENTS, IT EXCEEDS THE WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS TO BE CLASSIFIED AS "MANPORTABLE". THIS PROPOSAL WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF MAKING THIS MOBILE SPECTROMETER MANPORTABLE. WE PROPOSE TO USE EXISTING TECHNOLOGY TO SEPARATE THE SPECTROMETER INTO THREE INTERCONNECTED MANPORTABLE COMPONENTS TO INVESTIGATE WEIGHT AND COST REDUCTION POSSIBILITIES WITHIN EACH COMPONENT AND TO INVESTIGATE ANY POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE TRADE-OFFS WHICH MAY RESULT.