DSTO News

Combating biofouling to enhance fleet performance

Date: 10 November, 2009

Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) researchers are preparing to measure the effects of biofouling on Royal Australian Navy (RAN) vessel fuel consumption.

A torque meter system is to be fitted to the propeller shafts of an Armidale-class vessel, as part of an innovative research program to enhance the performance of Australias naval fleet, by protecting it from biofouling. In prescribed maritime conditions, the system will record the vessels torsion strain and rotational speed.

Lyn Fletcher, DSTO environmental research and biotechnology leader, says biofouling intensity is generally greater in northern-Australian waters and can impact a vessels operational performance.

Even small amounts of biofouling such as barnacles can result in substantial fuel penalties, loss of speed and range and increased maintenance costs, and has the potential to translocate invasive marine pests, Fletcher says.

By quantifying the relationship between fouling intensity and fuel consumption, we want to determine the most efficient intervals to clean hulls and enhance fleet operation performance.

Fuel savings

DSTO anticipates substantial fuel savings can be realised for the RAN by keeping its hulls free of fouling.

Meanwhile the research team is assessing the effectiveness of anti-fouling and fouling-release coatings in minimising biofouling from hulls to ensure they are effective under Australian conditions and will be suitable for the RANs unique operational tempo.

Preliminary trials on DSTO rafts in Williamstown (Victoria) and Cairns ( North Queensland), and on patches on RAN vessels show that new-generation fouling-release coating and the latest copper antifouling paints can be effective.

Copper acts as a toxin to potential organism settlement and over time the coating self-polishes, providing a continual toxic surface to deter biofouling, until eventually the coating is depleted of copper and requires re-application, Fletcher says.

New-generation fouling-release coatings are designed to reduce the speed at which the vessel must travel in order to enable the autonomous removal of fouling.

The research team is working closely with Navy to ensure the best possible coating systems are being trialled and to provide technical expertise when coatings fail to provide an acceptable level of biofouling control.

Teams shortlisted to do battle in robot challenge

Date: 2 November, 2009

Media Release Number: 092/2009

Twelve teams from five countries have been shortlisted to compete in the first round of the MAGIC 2010 robot challenge, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet, announced today.

The Multi-Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge (MAGIC), jointly sponsored by the Defence Science & Technology Organisation and US Department of Defense, invited worldwide proposals to develop teams of fully autonomous robots for military operations.

Twenty-three entries were received from USA, Canada, Poland, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Australia.

"The quality of the submissions was very strong and exceeded our expectations. Consequently, twelve teams have been selected to progress their projects to the next stage of the challenge," said Mr Combet.

"Ten of these teams will receive $US50,000 to develop their proposals instead of the original plan to fund only five teams. The remaining two teams have the opportunity to self-fund their projects."

Of the twelve teams, five are from the United States, four from Australia, and one each from Canada, Japan and Turkey.

"Most of the teams comprise partnerships between universities and companies that are at the forefront of robotics technology, such as Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, General Dynamics, Thales Australia and the University of Adelaide."

The shortlisted teams will be reduced to five in June 2010 when each of these five finalists will receive an additional $US50,000 to complete their projects for the Grand Challenge Event to be held in South Australia in November 2010.

"I congratulate the shortlisted teams and wish them success on the second phase of the competition," Mr Combet said.

The aim of the MAGIC initiative is to develop robots capable of operating fully autonomously in conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, making such operations safer for military personnel.

See the full media release for the list of shortlisted teams.

Media contacts:

Rod Hilton (Mr Combet) 02 6277 7620 or 0458 276 619

Stephen Butler (DSTO) 08 8259 6923 or 0418 800 323

Defence Media Liaison 02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664

DSTO helps deliver enhanced satellite capability

Date: 13 October, 2009

Media Release Number: 084/09

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has helped deliver enhanced capability and extra capacity for Australia\'s satellite defence communications system, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet said today.

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has helped deliver enhanced capability and extra capacity for Australia's satellite defence communications system, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet said today.

Mr Combet was briefed on the new military satellite communications capability (MILSATCOM) during a visit to DSTO's Edinburgh laboratories in South Australia.

"DSTO plays an essential role within our capability acquisition process. This includes providing expert advice on the scientific and technical risks and aspects of projects," said Mr Combet.

"For this project, the United States was seeking to jointly acquire with the ADF an additional satellite in the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) constellation. The scientific support provided by DSTO in acquiring this capability helped inform the ADF's participation in this project.

"The DSTO study, conducted as part of the acquisition process, was pivotal in adding scientific rigour to ADF negotiations for the acquisition of this new capability.

"The DSTO Study helped us achieve an ability to scale up our bandwidth requirements in coming years, an extra two years of capability life and extra satellite capacity. All of these improvements have also meant that there is potential for Defence to make significant savings.

"The new satellite capability will have benefits for the ADF for the next twenty to thirty years with access to the WGS network.

"DSTO's involvement in the acquisition of this satellite capability demonstrates the invaluable work they do in ensuring that the ADF receives the very best capability, at the best price and lowest risk," Mr Combet said.

Mr Combet also received briefings on a range of other DSTO research programs supporting the ADF, including future submarine technologies.

Media Contact:

Rod Hilton (Greg Combet): (02) 6277 7620 or 0458 276 619

Stephen Butler (DSTO): (08) 8259 6923 or 0418 800 323

Defence Public Affairs: (02) 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664

X-Ray technology sheds new light on armour protection

Date: 1 October, 2009

An armour mechanics team from DSTO has designed and built a unique facility that will greatly assist in designing safer armour for Australian troops.

The "Field Flash X-Ray" facility enables scientists to more thoroughly examine the impact of explosively formed particles on armour. It is believed to be the only facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and one of only a handful in the world. The facility was purpose built by Sam Parry, Tim Joyner, Jeremy Anderson (Weapons Systems Division), Ted Keyte (Scientific Engineering Services), Shaun Lavelle and John Williams (contractors).

Flash x-ray better than video

While X-ray technology has been surpassed by video in many respects, the older technique is proving useful to see exactly what is happening behind the plume of debris caused by an explosion.

"In order to develop armour it is necessary to see firstly what hit the armour, and secondly what the armour did to the things that hit it," says DSTO's Jeremy Anderson.

"That's where the flash X-ray comes into it. It is possible to use flash X-ray to take radiographs of the particles before they hit the targets and also when they exit on the other side. This is not possible with high-speed video because of the large amount of debris that is produced, obscuring the particles. With flash X-ray it is possible to look through the debris."

"Our gear produces X-rays over a 30 nanosecond exposure. This means that you can take pictures of things moving really, really fast," Jeremy says.

Microsecond accuracy

The equipment is triggered with microsecond accuracy by calculating flash times using a tool that Jeremy developed while at U.S Army Research Laboratory. The X-ray tubes are aligned to project two images onto a radiograph so that the velocity of the particles can be calculated.

Scientists have had flash X-ray in the lab for many years but Jeremy says that this is the first time it is available out in the field for DSTO.

"We are very restricted in the laboratory because of the limited space. In the field we have much more space and can fire many different weapons.

"The new facility has improvements on the U.S Army Research Laboratory version. Because we have more space we can dynamically fire shoulder-launched weapons and small arms in addition to the roadside Improvised Explosive Devices. "

The research will feed into producing better armour solutions for the Australian Army, for both short and long-term capability.

Minister Combet commends DSTO's contribution to Defence

Date: 10 September, 2009

Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel & Science Greg Combet outlines DSTOs contribution to Defence and national security.

The Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel & Science Greg Combet on Monday 7th of September read a statement in the House of Representatives, outlining the contribution that DSTO makes to Defence and national security.

The statement can be read and heard (25 mins dur) through the attachments on this page.