TEDAC ribbon cutting sets milestone - Project should result in operational, energy savings

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  The ribbon cutting signaling the completion of the Turbine Engine Dry Air Capability (TEDAC) Phase I ─ a project that will eventually usher in lower maintenance requirements and energy savings ─ was performed Jan. 20 at the site of the new facility at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC).

According to Kris Hughes, Air Force program manager for TEDAC, the TEDAC program eliminates the single point of failure for turbine altitude testing by constructing the desiccant dryer facility and then refurbishing the Refrigeration Cooler (RC-1). RC-1 will be taken out of service for refurbishment in 2012. Phase II construction is scheduled to begin in September 2011 and conclude in June 2013.

Hughes said the new equipment will result in less maintenance and energy savings when all phases of TEDAC are complete.

"That [energy savings] is really test load dependent," Hughes said. "We've made estimates in the past and it's going to vary greatly whether you use the system 200 hours a year or 1,000 hours a year. We've done some estimates beforehand ... on the very high end of utilization - if we utilize it and have similar years to the past decade that it could be on the order of $1 million a year, but that would have to be with very high utilization."

The project, consisting of eight desiccant dryers and other components, was constructed in the Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility (ASTF) complex and will provide conditioned, dry air for turbine altitude testing. The current refrigeration system has sustained numerous leaks and spills that jeopardize reliable test operations.

"The project is the culmination of a four-phase effort begun in 2009 to eliminate 45,000 gallons of trichloroethylene, 48,000 pounds of R12 refrigerant and their potential environmental hazards," Hughes said. "AEDC will no longer require these hazardous chemicals for plant operations with the completion of TEDAC. The project will significantly improve plant reliability while reducing AEDC's environmental risks."

David Browning, TEDAC program manager for Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA), AEDC's operating contractor, said he was proud of the project, which met the requirements and came in on time and on budget.

"This plant provides a more cost efficient means of drying air versus large mechanical refrigeration equipment," he said. "It will provide a dry air source that can be used to support large flow tests and can support low flow tests without using the existing refrigeration equipment. We expect to see some cost avoidance based on the rate of testing, because it's cheaper to run desiccant dryers using natural gas and not run the large mechanical refrigeration equipment."

TEDAC was planned, designed, constructed and validated using the Department of Defense's System Engineering (SE) process. The effort began with identification of the system requirements and followed a rigorous engineering approach as the project was planned, designed and executed. Through the process, engineering reviews continually mapped the solution back to the user requirements to assure TEDAC would satisfy AEDC's needs.

The $28.2 million Air Force contract was administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. Chicago Bridge and Iron (CB & I) Constructors was the design/build contractor for the project.

Browning said cooperation and teamwork are the biggest reasons for the success of the project.

"This was, first of all, the Air Force teaming with Corps of Engineers, ATA teaming with the government and CB & I doing the design and construction," he said. "This teaming effort has matured during Phase I, and we're going to carry this forward in Phase II. We'll be using a different design and build contractor, but it's the same approach for Phase II."