Inženirska skupina v kalifornijski mornariški bazi je ustvarila novo napravo za testiranje nosilnosti{0}}nosilnosti stebričkov, ki se uporabljajo za privez velikih ladij v pristanišču in morajo vzdržati stotine ton pritiska.
Ameriška mornarica vzdržuje na tisoče stebričkov po vsem svetu. Za njihovo testiranje je nova naprava, pravokotne oblike in izdelana predvsem iz kvadratne jeklene cevi, nameščena okoli stebrička. Njegovi nastavljivi oporniki so pritrjeni na pomol.
Okoli stebrička je nameščen kabel. Nastavljivi prečni nosilci in zaporni zatiči postavljajo kabel pod različnimi koti. Preizkuševalec aktivira hidravlično roko ali vitel (napenjalec), da potegne kabel in pri želenih meritvah uporabi silo na stebričku.
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.
Inženirji, ki so zgradili napravo, so iz inženirskega poveljstva pomorskih objektov v Port Huenemeju. To so Gerritt Lang, Elaina Ryan, Juan Carrillo, Ricardo Contreras, Zachary Harwood in Benjamin Hulbert.
Glede na njihovo patentno prijavo:
"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.
