Low-cost gaseous and liquid oxygen production system

A well-designed integration of a machine's control system with a CBM system will reduce manufacturing costs, simplify maintenance, reduce risk of critical failures, and reduce life-cycle cost of the machinery. This Phase I proposal's goal is todemonstrate the commercial and technical merit and feasibility of a combined CBM and control system for diesel generator sets on the Caterpillar 3608 and 3616. This machinery is not now digitally controlled, nor is it equipped with a CBM system. Bothgenerators are either currently in service or scheduled for service soon aboard Navy ships, and each will eventually feature an electronic fuel control system. Choosing to integrate the engine control and CBM systems before designing either system willsignificantly reduce design, development, and implementation costs of both compared to designing and building both systems separately and then integrating after the fact. For example, the two systems can share a substantial portion of the sensors andother elements that typically compose the separate systems, thus reducing the total number of parts required and systems costs. The work accomplished by successfully integrating the engine control and CBM systems will benefit these generator sets andother machinery throughout the Navy and in commercial applications. Note attached letter of support from Caterpillar.The benefits anticipated from this project fall into three categories:1) The direct and near term benefits derived from cost savings in acquisition and maintenance of the 3600 series gen-sets. Savings result from avoiding the cost of separate CBM and control systems and from the reduced cost of maintenance compared with aperiodic preventative philosophy of run-to-failure.2) Lessons learned and system design accomplished on this project will translate readily to other ship machinery, both new and legacy, generating savings as described above.3) Because of the R&D accomplished in the project has direct and immediate application outside the DoD, rapid commercialization is anticipated in 3600 series gen-sets, and on a wide array of other machines.Note attached letter of support from Caterpillar.