Inženjerski tim u kalifornijskoj pomorskoj bazi kreirao je novi uređaj za testiranje nosivosti-kapaciteta stubova, koji se koriste za vez velikih brodova u luci i moraju izdržati stotine tona pritiska.
Američka mornarica održava hiljade stubova širom svijeta. Za njihovo testiranje, novi uređaj, pravokutnog oblika i napravljen prvenstveno od četvrtastih čeličnih cijevi, postavljen je oko stupa. Njegovi podesivi podupirači su pričvršćeni za pristanište.
Oko stuba je postavljen kabl. Podesivi poprečni nosači i klinovi za zaključavanje postavljaju kabl pod različitim uglovima. Operator za testiranje aktivira hidrauličnu ruku ili vitlo (zatezač) da povuče sajlu, primenjujući silu na stub na željenim merenjima.
For their work, U.S. Patent 11,215,541, titled In-situ Bollard Tester, was assigned to the U.S. Navy on January 4, 2022. It is the first patent assigned to the Navy this year, which typically receives over 250 patents per year, and makes them available for commercialization by private companies through technology transfer agreements.
Inženjeri koji su napravili uređaj su iz Inženjerske komande pomorskih objekata u Port Huenemeu. To su Gerritt Lang, Elaina Ryan, Juan Carrillo, Ricardo Contreras, Zachary Harwood i Benjamin Hulbert.
Prema njihovoj prijavi patenta:
"In-situ tests are the preferred method in determining whether bollards and other mooring hardware are performing at their design capacity. There is, however, no accepted standard testing device and procedure. If a bollard is degraded, a ship's mooring line may break the bollard, resulting in damage to the ship and creating a dangerous situation.
"Past bollard test procedures have included the use of tugboats, which is dangerous and not representative of vertical mooring line angles that may cause uplift on the bollards. In this regard, there is a need for improvement to develop a safe device and procedure for testing bollards in-situ."
Interested in using this device? It's not yet available or for sale, but the newly issued 20-year utility patent can now be licensed by the Navy to private companies who can then commercialize it.
TechLink, the U.S. Navy's national partnership intermediary for technology transfer, guides companies through the licensing process. To learn more tap the contact button below.
