WEBVTT

00:01.973 --> 00:04.890
(electronic music)

00:25.193 --> 00:27.860
(driving music)

00:29.725 --> 00:33.142
- [Narrator] In battle, we own the skies.

00:33.382 --> 00:37.549
Our Navy owns the sea, and we continue to lead the world

00:38.173 --> 00:41.840
pushing that boundary in extraordinary ways.

00:42.471 --> 00:46.638
Technology gave us the night, now scientist at the Army

00:46.745 --> 00:50.112
Research Lab in Alelphi, Maryland, are working on technology

00:50.112 --> 00:53.842
that someday will give us the elements, allowing us to

00:53.842 --> 00:58.009
operate in the sand, the dust, the wind, whatever nature

00:58.506 --> 01:02.673
throws our way, science will give us control over.

01:03.052 --> 01:05.814
- [Pilot] Wow, that's a lot of dust.

01:05.814 --> 01:07.443
- [Narrator] When it comes to flying in the desert,

01:07.443 --> 01:10.127
the number one enemy may not be shooting back,

01:10.127 --> 01:13.907
it can literally be as small as a grain of sand.

01:13.907 --> 01:15.734
- One of the things that are limiting us the way we

01:15.734 --> 01:18.735
^operate now is the weather, sometimes the weather defines

01:18.735 --> 01:21.566
^whether or not we can execute a mission or not.

01:21.566 --> 01:23.275
So as we develop these technologies that allows us

01:23.275 --> 01:25.140
to operate in high-sand conditions,

01:25.140 --> 01:27.987
and brown-out conditions, and high wind conditions

01:27.987 --> 01:30.063
where typically we may not be able to operate

01:30.063 --> 01:32.247
an air platform, we're building those technologies

01:32.247 --> 01:33.465
as part of our portfolio.

01:33.465 --> 01:36.227
It will allow us to operate in any sort of environment,

01:36.227 --> 01:39.233
under any weather conditions, at any time of day.

01:39.233 --> 01:41.712
- [Narrator] It's a big problem, and that's about the

01:41.712 --> 01:43.542
only thing that's clear.

01:43.542 --> 01:46.588
As we operate in desert conditions, sand not only kills

01:46.588 --> 01:50.580
visibility, but it gets into the air intake of the engines.

01:50.580 --> 01:53.465
While there are air filtration systems, they don't catch

01:53.465 --> 01:56.633
everything, particles make it through, causing a rapid

01:56.633 --> 01:59.383
deterioration of engine hardware.

01:59.547 --> 02:03.427
Using a specialized camera capable of shooting 4000

02:03.427 --> 02:06.752
frames per second, you can see the super heated sand

02:06.752 --> 02:10.242
travelling at incredibly high speeds, slamming into

02:10.242 --> 02:12.716
the internal parts of the engine, causing the engine

02:12.716 --> 02:16.466
to simply wear out, and eventually breakdown.

02:16.738 --> 02:20.732
^- Those small amount of particles would actually melt

02:20.732 --> 02:23.613
and then they fly and going to attack the stator

02:23.613 --> 02:26.106
and the rotors, and those are the heart and the guts

02:26.106 --> 02:28.439
of these gas turbine engine.

02:29.150 --> 02:31.019
- [Narrator] But understanding how the damage happens

02:31.019 --> 02:34.145
inside an engine is only half the problem.

02:34.145 --> 02:36.586
How do you prevent the damage in the first place?

02:36.586 --> 02:39.548
Before we can get to that, we must first consider one

02:39.548 --> 02:42.965
simple detail, engines get hot, very hot.

02:44.704 --> 02:47.223
So hot in fact that the metal alloys that make up the

02:47.223 --> 02:50.890
engine parts would melt if not for ceramics.

02:51.652 --> 02:54.126
Engineers are able to keep heat under control using

02:54.126 --> 02:55.459
ceramic coating.

02:56.035 --> 02:58.472
They're already used in engines because of their heat

02:58.472 --> 03:01.073
insulating properties and work very well at

03:01.073 --> 03:02.736
keeping things cool.

03:02.736 --> 03:06.051
Now these scientist are looking at new ways to use ceramics.

03:06.051 --> 03:08.217
^- So we're trying to make ceramic coatings that still

03:08.217 --> 03:11.952
^serve that function as insulators and to protect the

03:11.952 --> 03:14.840
metal hardware from the high temperature, while also being

03:14.840 --> 03:18.012
more resilient with the added bonus of basically acting

03:18.012 --> 03:21.174
like Teflon in a cooking pan, right, where all this incoming

03:21.174 --> 03:22.881
sand would just roll right off.

03:22.881 --> 03:25.479
Getting the sand to simply not stick during flight is

03:25.479 --> 03:28.971
the holy grail these scientist are working to achieve,

03:28.971 --> 03:31.453
but finding the right ceramic material is a tedious

03:31.453 --> 03:33.203
and exacting process.

03:33.527 --> 03:36.662
In their lab, scientist and engineers recreate the harsh

03:36.662 --> 03:39.218
environment inside a flight engine.

03:39.218 --> 03:41.293
They expose the coatings to the different types

03:41.293 --> 03:44.093
of conditions within an engine, an examine how well

03:44.093 --> 03:46.858
the coating was able to withstand the test.

03:46.858 --> 03:49.622
Observations are noted, changes are made,

03:49.622 --> 03:52.122
and they do it all over again.

03:52.871 --> 03:56.563
It's time consuming work, but the results are encouraging.

03:56.563 --> 03:58.753
- My part of the program, you know, we're actually coming

03:58.753 --> 04:00.704
up with different chemistries and different coating

04:00.704 --> 04:04.787
mechanisms that are showing some promise in being

04:05.893 --> 04:08.981
more resistant during various heating and cooling cycles,

04:08.981 --> 04:12.275
we just kind of cycle through those various test iterations

04:12.275 --> 04:13.776
faster without having to go back

04:13.776 --> 04:15.887
and make a new coating every time.

04:15.887 --> 04:17.225
- [Narrator] So the big question is,

04:17.225 --> 04:19.808
how does sand affect readiness?

04:20.110 --> 04:22.585
- Currently in the field in some of these desert

04:22.585 --> 04:25.717
environments, engines that are designed to operate for

04:25.717 --> 04:28.723
4000 hours of service, are getting pulled for maintenance

04:28.723 --> 04:32.890
because of these sand damages at like 400-500 hours,

04:33.471 --> 04:35.785
you know, 10 times reduction in service life

04:35.785 --> 04:38.222
of this hardware, so it's increasing that longevity,

04:38.222 --> 04:40.859
sustainability, readiness, and capability that we

04:40.859 --> 04:43.052
really think is gonna make the biggest impact.

04:43.052 --> 04:44.757
- [Narrator] Another barrier to getting this technology

04:44.757 --> 04:47.519
ready for the battlefield is the incredibly rigorous

04:47.519 --> 04:50.358
conditions these aircraft must endure.

04:50.358 --> 04:52.633
Any technology must be able to withstand the harshest

04:52.633 --> 04:54.300
of field conditions.

04:54.380 --> 04:57.308
There's much work left to be done, but the stakes are high

04:57.308 --> 05:00.881
as is the scientist dedication to solving the problem.

05:00.881 --> 05:02.834
- In the 90's we were able to do night vision,

05:02.834 --> 05:05.431
own the night, but we want to do it the next generation

05:05.431 --> 05:07.668
of systems, is own the environment, own the weather,

05:07.668 --> 05:09.943
be able to operate our systems and our platforms

05:09.943 --> 05:12.580
with next generation technologies that allow us to

05:12.580 --> 05:16.663
operate in sand, in wind, in rain, in high winds,

05:17.825 --> 05:20.261
and not be restricted in our movement by those types

05:20.261 --> 05:22.408
of operational environments.

05:22.408 --> 05:25.944
- [Narrator] Man versus nature, an age old problem

05:25.944 --> 05:29.634
that may be solved with 21st Century technology.

05:29.634 --> 05:33.248
It starts here, inside the walls of the Army Research Lab

05:33.248 --> 05:37.415
with a group of dedicated men and women armed with science,

05:37.877 --> 05:39.627
trying to save lives.

05:41.019 --> 05:43.602
(upbeat music)