20 JUL 2012
MEMORANDUM
From:
To: Associate Director of Research and Scholarship for Internships & Technology Transfer
Via: (1) LCDR Jason Chiodi, USN Department of Political Science Internship Coordinator
(2) CDR Tom Robertson, USN Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Internship Coordinator
Subj: AFTER-ACTION REPORT FOR INTERNSHIP, SUMMER 2012
Ref: (a) COMDTMIDN/ACDEANINST 1531.73A
A. Summary Information:
1. This After-Action Report is provided in accordance with reference (a).
Internship details:
Location: Naval Energy Coordination Office, Pentagon; Electric Ships Office, Naval Yard, Washington DC
Dates: 25 June – 20 July 2012
B. Technical:
1. Title of Project:
Fuel Savings Technology Study
2. Objectives:
The main goal was to research and learn about the different initiatives in the fleet to increase fuel efficiency and decrease dependency on fossil fuels. Another goal was to learn about the different roles that the N45 office and NAVSEA PMS 320 (Electric Ships Office) in the research, development, and acquisition process. Finally, a third goal was to gain a greater understanding of the Energy Storage Module as it directly relates to my capstone project, and to initiate contact with subject matter experts who will be valuable resources for me in the coming year.
3. Approach:
I spent Mondays during the internship at the N45 office in the Pentagon reading publications, attending staff meetings, and making office calls. The rest of the week I was at the Electric Ships Office where I read reports and presentations on new technologies and initiatives, focusing on the Energy Storage Module among other things, attended meetings with Task Force Energy as well as staff meetings, and met with the office leadership to discuss professional development and their experiences. I spent the third week of the internship at Naval Surface Warfare Center Caderock Division in Philadelphia. During that time, I toured their testing facilities, was briefed on several emerging technologies and testing capabilities, made office calls, and saw the Energy Storage Module proof of concept model. I also made a trip to RCT in Baltimore where a key component of the Energy Storage Module was sent to be cleaned and refurbished after an accident. There I was able to see the detailed components of the power conversion modules and learned more details about how the modules work.
4. Accomplishments and My Contributions to the Project:
My main accomplishment is this internship is knowledge gained and the new contacts I have made. This is detailed further in the attached documents. I was able to contribute in a small way by putting together a short report contrasting a Design Data Sheet with an IEEE Standard on voltage and current harmonic calculations. My hope is to effectively contribute to the ESM project by using the background and technical knowledge I have gained, and utilizing my new contacts in my capstone project this coming year. In this way, I will return on investment and produce a project that will contribute to the overall study. I also hope to share these contacts and knowledge of capabilities and opportunities available at NSWCCD with my classmates who are interested in the same field. I was also able to help the Electric Ships Office by providing feedback on my experience since I was their first intern from the Naval Academy.
5. Publications and/or Presentations:
After my week in Philadelphia, I drafted a trip report detailing what I had seen and learned over the week (Enc. (1)). At the end of the internship, I talked briefly with members of the Electric Ships Office about what I had gotten out of the internship and what I would have liked to have done differently. I wrote a short Memorandum detailing what I had learned about the functions of the different offices and some of the specific projects they have been working on (Enc. (2)). I also wrote the aforementioned report contrasting the two harmonic standards documents (Enc. (3)).
C. Administrative
The logistics for this internship went pretty smoothly overall but there were some hiccups. The main difficulty I had was getting travel orders and filing my travel claim. These are only difficult because of timing. When each training block ends on a Friday and the next starts on Monday, there is a very small window of opportunity Friday afternoon to do these things before offices close for the weekend. By planning and filling out ahead of time as many things as possible, it’s possible to make it but it can be difficult to orchestrate depending on schedules and uncertainties such as traffic. The other problem I had was getting on my navy.mil email account and access to buildings. All of the security clearances and pre-paperwork went fine but I ended up having to get a new CAC card and it took a few days before I was able to get on to my email. The problem with access to buildings was just a result of my bouncing between three different locations and thus not being in one place long enough to merit an access badge. This was not too much of a problem as my points of contact were very helpful in getting me where I needed to be.
I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with my great uncle who lives in Reston and only had to worry about lodging on my Philadelphia trip. The commute from Reston was fairly long, however. I drove my own vehicle to the nearest Metro at West Falls Church and then took the Metro to either the Pentagon or to Eastern Market (Naval Yard). With parking and Metro fares it came out to cost around $14 a day for transportation. I also drove my own vehicle for the Philadelphia and RCT trips. I had no trouble with lodging or transportation in Philadelphia. I booked a hotel online and was able to drive on to the Naval Yard in Philadelphia every day. The length of the stay or cost of transportation was not known when my orders were issued but were left flexible for adjustment. I had no trouble with meals since there are ample dining opportunities at the Pentagon, Navy Yard, DC, and Naval Yard, Philadelphia.
D. Evaluation
1. Relevance:
This internship was directly relevant to my capstone project. I will be working on controls for an energy storage module to facilitate single generator operations or the use of high energy pulsed loads like a rail gun or directed energy weapon. During this internship, I was exposed to much of the background research into this program as well as the specifications and technical details in its design and function. I also learned about the problems that are facing the program such as size constraints for implementation and electrical integration with the ship.
2. Impact:
This internship, while I am still undecided about service selection, has given me a better understanding of opportunities available as a Submarine and Engineering Duty Officer. It has also shown me opportunities I could have if I continue to pursue and engineering career. I have not made a decision either about graduate school or service selection as a result of this internship, but I can now make a more informed decision.
3. Level of interest/challenge:
The documents and reports I was given to read were interesting and a challenge to comprehend at the beginning. Through meetings and talking with the office members, they began to make more sense, culminating in the hardware I saw in Philadelphia. While gaining this background and technical information was vital for me, I would have like to have some more goal oriented work to do early on. I know it is difficult given my limited understanding of the material, but I would have felt more productive and helpful if I had something to contribute to the office in the first couple weeks besides sitting in on meetings and reading reports.
E. Recommendation(s)
I would certainly recommend this internship. The atmosphere at the offices was inviting and there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained talking with its members. The combination of the work with N45, the Electric Ships Office, and the facilities in Philadelphia gave me a well rounded understanding of energy saving technology, its development, and its impact on the fleet. This would be a great internship for anyone interested in energy technology, ship design, research and development, or anyone thinking about becoming an EDO. I also believe someone with an economics background might enjoy this internship working on the financial side. This aspect of R&D was new to me and it was extensive.
Enc 1
20 JUL 2012
MEMORANDUM
From: MIDN 1/C Dose (131794), USN
To: Commander James C. Goudreau, USN, OPNAV, N45
Via: (1) Katy Taylor, CIV, OPNAV, N45E
Subj: Philadelphia Trip Report
Ref: None
A. Summary Information:
1. The week of Jul 9-13 I had the opportunity to visit NSWCCD-SSES in Philadelphia to tour the facilities, speak with the people currently working on the projects, and make contact with many individuals who will be great resources for my capstone project this year. I was able to see the Energy Storage Module, Hybrid Energy Drive, the hotbed plants for the DDG 51 and DDG 1000, as well as several other testing facilities and capabilities. I also had the opportunity to speak with many of the technical experts working on these projects and learned much about the projects and facilities’ function, use, how they are developed and tested, and their application to the Navy. My primary point of contact for the visit was Donald Longo, the Energy Storage Module Project Manager.
B. Trip Details
1. I began the trip with a courtesy call on Captain Dave Gombas, USN, Commanding Officer of NSWCCD-SSES. We talked about his experiences in the Navy from service selection to command. He especially focused on his decision to pursue an EDO-Nuke option as this is a possible future option for me. He gave me his thoughts and experiences as well on family life in the military and how he views the progression and differences in jobs and responsibilities from junior officer billets through command.
2. I had the opportunity to be shown the ESM by one of the electrical engineers who has been working on the system. I was able to see the module first hand as the technician explained how it worked. I saw the empty cabinet where the energy converters had recently been before the coolant leak accident. The techs had been powering up the system for the first time in quite a while and a heat exchanger failed in one of the Line Replaceable Units containing the energy converters. The converters are liquid cooled and this failure caused a leak which filled the LRUs with several inches of coolant and water. This mixture leaked down into the other LRUs causing one of them to arc. The LRUs had to be removed and sent to the manufacturer to be refurbished and inspected to find the cause of the failure. I was able to see the LRUs while they were at the manufacturer, RCT in Linthicum, and assisted in removing pockets of moisture and cleaning one of the LRUs. This was a good opportunity to see the inside of the units and learn more about their function.
Back at the ESM, the tech explained how the converters are hooked up to a large switch board and controlled whether the module is linked to the power grid or to the DDG 51 test plant, which is in the same building. This allows testing of the battery systems ability to charge and hold a charge by completing the circuit to the AC power grid, but also gives the ability to sync the system to the test plant to run the system as it would be run on a ship. When charging, the system is connected to the plant’s 450VAC bus which the module converts to DC to charge the batteries. Operating as an energy source, the batteries provide 1000VDC which is converted to 450VAC and then dissipated in a large load bank outside the facility. The tech also explained the multiple safety procedures and safe falls the system has to prevent accidents and injury as he showed me the battery strings. I saw how a person is able to monitor the charge on each individual battery and how each string can be charged independently. Measurements are constantly being taken and archived to produce a large amount of data. The proof of concept model is rather large, taking up an entire shipping container for the 600kW module. I was also shown a separate battery bank that uses lithium batteries as opposed to the lead acid batteries used in the proof of concept. This bank is about one third the size of the proof of concept, but requires further safety and integration testing before it can be used.
3. I was able to tour both the DDG 51 and DDG 1000 test plants located at NSW. The DDG 1000 plant consists of half the symmetrical electric system designed for the ship. The project manager, Mr. Harvin, walked me through the site, explaining the reasons for the redundant systems for survivability. I learned about the induction motor currently used in the plant as well as the difficulty with the massive permanent magnet motor that was originally planned for use. He explained some of the challenges in setting up the test site to attempt to closely mimic how the plant would be installed on a ship, even down to the concern of how to pass the mass of cables from the induction motor through a watertight bulkhead or having all the systems on shock resistant mounts. From the control systems standpoint, Mr. Harvin explained that much of the control, especially damage control, is to be automated. This automation will allow for essentially one person to be able to control/oversee a system that used to require several people. The system will be able to react to casualties and close connections to those points, isolating them and then attempting to bring them back online. With the redundant system and more localized converters, all the systems connected to a certain bus will not have to be taken offline, keeping the ship at a higher combat capability.