Prime Research announced today that its skin friction sensor contract with Cortana Corporation was expanded to include engineering support services for sea trials on the 160 foot, 320 ton Sea Flyer platform operated out of Hawaii.
The Sea Flyer program is supported by the Office of Naval Research and the Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations to demonstrate innovative technologies, including Navatek's patented lifting body and Cortana’s drag reduction system, for risk reduction for one of the Navy’s latest warship designs, Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
Initially, Prime Research was contracted to provide fiber optic based skin friction(shear-stress) sensors to be mounted at various locations along the lifting body. These patented skin friction sensors were designed to monitor the effectiveness of the drag reduction based on Cortana’s polymer ejection system. Fiber optic sensors were desired due to their increased sensitivity and their ability to withstand the wet and corrosive conditions in this application that would easily compromise traditional electrical sensor systems.
Based on Prime’s knowledge of the electronic data collection and mechanical systems on the platform, Cortana expanded Prime’s contract to include advanced mechanical analysis of shipboard sensors as well as extensive engineering support services at the shipyard in Hawaii and during sea trials.
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