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Air Force modifies heavy lift airbags to aid rescuers

From left: Wright Brothers Institute Computer and Electronics Engineer Claud Nichol, University of Dayton Research Institute Mechanical Engineer Jason Adams, and Air Force Research Laboratory Center for Rapid Innovation Mechanical Engineer John "J.D." Bales stand with a heavy lift kit capable of lifting tens of thousands of pounds, which they modified to allow the bags to be deflated more quickly in dangerous environments. [Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Patrick Foose]

 

 

 

 

By Patrick Foose, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

An Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) concept to help military first responders lift heavy objects and quickly exit contested environments went from idea to field testing in about four months.

Previously, rescue workers used the kits' two air-filled bags to lift 45,000 lb. However, the bags took more than 10 minutes to deflate, exposing personnel to other risks in dynamic environments and delaying extraction.

In November 2023, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) presented CRI with the technical challenge to reduce the deflation time.

"AFSOC users were exposed to hazardous and contested environments," CRI AFSOC Portfolio Lead Dr. Thomas G. Howell said. "At the Wright Brothers Institute's Proving Ground Facility, the team was able to create a solution that would deflate the bags in approximately one minute." The Wright Brothers Institute is located just north of downtown Dayton, OH.

Howell said the team, comprised of CRI Mechanical Engineer John "J.D." Bales, University of Dayton Research Institute Mechanical Engineer Jason Adams, and Wright Brothers Institute Computer and Electronics Engineer Claude Nicol, implemented a solution that integrated a Venturi pump into the overall system to take advantage of the air compressor that inflates the bags.

Bales said the off-the-shelf pump was key to ensure sustainability of the solution in the future.

"Bespoke solutions are hard to remanufacture, and we want to make sure this problem stays solved," Bales said.

CRI created the original Heavy Lift Kit, or HLK, in 2019. Bales said the process of developing the quick-deflating modification started with input from end users.

"Once we had a good understanding of the challenges proposed, we investigated the users' idea to use the compressor itself to somehow deflate the bags," Bales said. "This was the best approach, as it would not require any extra gear to be carried into the field -- always a big benefit."

University of Dayton Research Institute Mechanical Engineer Jason Adams works on the Heavy Lift Kit, allowing the bags to be quickly deflated in contested environments. [Credit: Air Force photo/Patrick Foose]

 

 

 

 

Bales' team used two kits from the original development to create the solution.

"We dove immediately into taking one apart to see how the compressor functioned [to determine] whether it could be used to drain the bags," Bales said. "After three prototypes, we hit on the right combination of commercial and in-house designed parts and did some testing at our prototyping lab, the Wright Brothers Institute's Proving Ground Facility."

The new prototype was delivered to the customer for field testing in March.

"Everything has been working great since then, and we are trying to set up a modification and sustainment plan to modify all the HLKs the customer owns and make sure they can be serviced in the future," Bales said.

Bales said the Wright Brothers Institute's Proving Ground Facility in Dayton is vital to the CRI's work.

"Aside from being the place where we did every aspect of this effort from conceptualization to test, it also serves an essential role for numerous other existing CRI efforts and gives us the internal capability to explore concepts before and after the workshops we hold regularly to explore users' problems," Bales said.

Howell said AFSOC has acquired new HLKs to support their teams.

"By utilizing our prototyping facility, we were able to quickly address a customer need and provide them a critical capability they needed," Howell said. "Our customers will be exposed to the hazardous environments they are in for a shorter of period of time now, due to this modification."

Published June 2024

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