LIGHTWEIGHT AIR COMPRESSORS

THE MARINE CORPS HAS A NEED FOR LIGHTWEIGHT AIR COMPRESSORS FOR USE IN A REVOLUTIONARY IN-WATER PROPULSION SYSTEM NAMED THE WATER PISTON PROPULSER FOR PROPELLING FUTURE HIGH WATER SPEED AMPHIBIAN VEHICLES. THE REQUIREMENTS ARE FOR LIGHTWEIGHT, SALTWATER ENVIRONMENT CAPABLE COMPRESSORS THAT CAN PRODUCE 18.5 POUNDS PER SECOND OF AIR AT 225 PSI.PHASE I OF THIS PROGRAM WILL BEGIN BY RESEARCHING COMPRESSOR DESIGNS, IDENTIFYING CRITERIA CRITICAL TO COMPRESSOR SELECTION AND FORMALIZING A SELECTION PROCEDURE. A COMPRESSOR DESIGN WILL BE SELECTED AND AN IMPROVED COMPUTER MODEL WILL BE DEVELOPED TO STUDY THIS DESIGN. PRELIMINARY COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN DRAWINGS WILL BE MADE AND ANALYZED USING THE COMPUTER MODEL. PRELIMINARY MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS AND MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES WILL BE ESTABLISHED. RESULTS OF THIS WORK WILL BE REVIEWED AND A RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE WILL BE ESTABLISHED FOR FUTURE ITERATIONS OF DESIGN AND MODELING TO OPTIMIZE THE COMPRESSOR TO BE DONE IN PHASE II. PHASE II WILL ALSO INCLUDE DELIVERY OF FINAL DRAWINGS, ENGINEERING CALCULATIONS AND ADDITIONAL COMPUTER MODELING THAT DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY AND SHOW PACKAGING, LAYOUT, SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, EFFICIENCIES, MODE OF OPERATION, WEIGHT AND VOLUME REQUIREMENTS.