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Research may lead to reduction
of Navy expenses, crew sizes
By Luis Jiménez
Summer
Reporter
Research led by two Purdue professors in conjunction
with faculty from University of Missouri at Rolla could be the catalyst
to the development of the new generation of automated warships and cruisers.
The research, which is conducted at Purdue by Scott
Sudhoff, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering,
and Oleg Wasynczuk, professor of electrical and computer engineering,
could ultimately help the Navy improve its ships by automating electric
power distribution systems in ships and by developing a more fuel-efficient
silent propulsion system. The implementation of automated processes
within the ship could shrink crew sizes and could yield significant
monetary savings to the Navy.
Sudhoff said they are looking toward using one-fourth
of the crew number used in ships with traditional mechanical systems.
He said this would not only present the Navy with a significant reduction
of military personnel expenses, but also, in the case something would
go wrong, fewer people would get hurt.
"The overall goal of the ships is really to cut
the operating costs of the Navy by cutting the number of sailors in
the ships," Sudhoff said.
Reduction in the number of military personnel required
to manage ships at deep sea, according to Sudhoff, not only wouldn't
affect any current Navy personnel, but it could relieve a military personnel
shortage caused by a decrease in experienced sailors during the 1990s.
The research recently received a monetary boost
from the Energy System Analysis Consortium, which is composed of Purdue
and five other universities that have research focused in power electronics
systems to develop improved military applications. The consortium will
receive a $4 million disbursement from the Department of the Navy this
year, of which Sudhoff said Purdue will receive about 40 percent or
approximately $1.6 million.
Sudhoff said Purdue will receive the larger share
of the disbursement because it puts a significant effort into these
areas of research.
He said the research is still ongoing and focusing
on other aspects of improved ship design.
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