TEST AND TRIAL SUPPORT

Test and Trial Support

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. engineers have supported many test and evaluation programs and ship trials. Our experience in developing test plans and procedures and shock criteria to assist in equipment and system performance and shock survivability is extensive. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. engineers most recently supported the ship Shock Trial of the DDG 81, USS Winston S. Churchill, serving on the HM&E Team with NAVSEA Philadelphia personnel throughout the trial.

As the only private contractor, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. was a significant participant in the core team planning for the DDG 81 Shock Trial evolution, with responsibility for all pre-trial inspections and post-trial evaluations and engineering activities associated with ship design. We also conducted the on-site shock trial training course for all ship's force, HM&E Team personnel and Combat System Team personnel.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. expertise in supporting ship shock trials is unmatched in the private sector with experience in many classes of ships including FFG-7, CGN, CG-47, CVN-68, DDG-51, LHD-1, LSD-44, MCM-1 and MHC-51. This shock trial experience is augmented by our expertise in shock inspections, gained through participation in numerous inspections on virtually every class of ship in the U.S. Navy. These inspections are conducted in order to identify and document discrepancies in equipment and system installations that will affect function and survivability in a shock event. Due to this vast experience in shock trials and inspections, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. has written test and shock qualification criteria for the US Navy and various equipment suppliers. This work has included establishing test plans for shock testing equipment mounted on test barges. We have witnessed and recorded the results of these equipment tests, analyzed the results and developed changes to make the equipment meet the specified threshold criteria.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. electrical engineers have been active in all DDG 51 Class ship sea trials acting as representatives of the NAVSEA Ship Design Manager, to monitor Ship Service Generator, Switchboard, Load Center and Electric Plant Control Console operations and functions, and report on problems and discrepancies. Follow-on support includes recommendations for resolution of any design and installation issues that surface. In addition, G&C personnel have participated in Trial Card Screening for virtually all DDG51 class ships. During DDG 91 trials, G&C electrical engineers installed clay bars and other devices to monitor COTS Switchgear motion during trials. Our engineers presented the results of this monitoring effort at the DDG 51 class New Construction Electrical Issues Meeting. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. engineers also inspected COTS switchgear installations and supported NSWCCD monitoring of the electric plant during the Combat System Survivability Demo. G&C personnel also observed various trial demonstrations of electric plant and other electrical system operations including the Degaussing System, and wrote trial cards to document any identified deficiencies in the installation.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. also has expertise in development of system performance test procedures to validate electrical system performance following major system installations and modifications. Recent expertise includes development of Electrical Distribution Test procedures for verification testing of SSDG and SSTG, Switchboard and Bus Ties, Load Centers, Electric Plant Control Console, Generator Paralleling, and Bus transfer and Load Shed operations and performance and capability.