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USV Modular Power Generator System: Design for Reliability using MBSE achieving Graceful Degradation through Supervisory Control

Awardee

HEPBURN AND SONS LLC

9200 CHURCH ST STE 302
MANASSAS, VA, 20110-5561
USA

Award Year: 2024

UEI: TLLAP6FKHA99

HUBZone Owned: No

Woman Owned: No

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No

Congressional District: 10

Tagged as:

SBIR

Phase I

Seal of the Agency: DOD

Awarding Agency

DOW

Branch: NAVY

Total Award Amount: $139,993

Contract Number: N68335-24-C-0451

Agency Tracking Number: N241-060-0541

Solicitation Topic Code: N241-060

Solicitation Number: 24.1

Abstract

Hepburn and Sons LLC teamed with General Electric (GE) Vernova Advanced Research proposes to design a supervisory control methodology that enable graceful degradation of an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) modular generator system. The design will be optimized for system reliability, efficiency, and extended maintenance intervals. Key challenge facing USVs is the maintenance interval and autonomous fault management. Among other maintenance requirements, generator systems require oil changes every 700 hours. In order to reach a 2000-hour maintenance interval and 4000-hour mean time between failure (MTBF), USV power generation systems necessitates an innovative maintenance solution and graceful degradation from full mission capacity down to “limp home” mode.     The design approach will include an extensive failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA), incorporating the Hepburn team’s hull, mechanical, and electrical (HM&E) expertise into a model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach to achieve an Authoritative Source of Truth (ASoT) model that follows the design lifecycle. The GE Research team brings supervisory control and energy conversion system expertise for an innovative and automatic maintenance solution for system graceful degradation. The team will assess the mission concept of operations (CONOPS) alongside the TPOC and extended Navy network in support of an effective MBSE design approach. 

Award Schedule

  1. 2024
    Solicitation Year

  2. 2024
    Award Year

  3. July 15, 2024
    Award Start Date

  4. January 15, 2025
    Award End Date

Principal Investigator

Name: Patrick Lewis
Phone: (412) 527-2619
Email: patrick.lewis@hepburnandsons.com

Business Contact

Name: Eric Hepburn
Phone: (703) 366-3434
Email: eric.hepburn@hepburnandsons.com

Research Institution

Name: N/A