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tactical wheeled vehicle system under desert operating
conditions (as specified in Army Regulation 70–38,
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation of Materiel
for Extreme Climatic Conditions). The first test
was a steady-state, natural convection test designed to
determine the maximum operating temperature of the
eDAQ system. The second test was a solar-loading
test designed to validate the operation of the eDAQ
system when exposed to high solar radiation in conjunction
with high outside ambient temperatures. A
conduction-based cooling scheme was selected for the
interior components (including the eDAQ-lite) and a
natural convection-based cooling scheme was selected
for the exterior. Thermally conductive grease, roomtemperature
vulcanizing, and gaskets were used on all
wall interfaces. The current design includes a protective
cover plate.
Data Reporting
AMSAA has successfully demonstrated the Army
eDAQ tactical wheeled vehicle system’s hardware
and software capabilities, data quality checks, and
rudimentary usage characterization. Many vehicles
have been fully instrumented, and data are being
captured from over 80 analog channels, multiple SAE
[Society of Automotive Engineers] J–1708 bus channels,
and GPS sensors. These vehicles have run over
all Aberdeen Proving Ground test courses multiple
times, providing detailed data for developing prognostic
algorithms. The Aberdeen Test Center and
AMSAA also have measured and analyzed data from
many wheeled vehicles of several different types in
Iraq for over a year. This has provided a significant
amount of usage data and operating parameters that
will be extremely useful for optimizing testing. The
data also are being aligned with maintenance records
to identify specific prognostic algorithms.
Fielding of the EDHUMS has been underway since
June 2006, starting with the instrumentation of eight
tactical wheeled vehicles at the National Training Center
at Fort Irwin, California, and followed by intheater
installations. Five EDHUMS systems were installed
in Kuwait and Iraq in December 2006 and five more
in March 2007. Six vehicles were instrumented in
Afghanistan in September 2007. In addition to these
independent installations, AMSAA is actively participating
in the tactical wheeled vehicle portion of
the heavy brigade combat team condition-based reliability
analysis demonstration that is currently taking
place at Fort Knox, Kentucky. With system installations
completed in May 2007, data are currently
being collected, reduced, and analyzed for reporting
to fleet managers, engineers, and maintainers. In all
of the installations mentioned, usage characterization
and initial versions of diagnostic and prognostic
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algorithms are installed and, based on feedback from
the field, are being refined.
Some of the analyses that AMSAA has been able
to provide include time in gear, fuel consumption,
Soldier thermal environment, time at speed, and some
rudimentary terrain identification. AMSAA’s goal is
to generate this information using onboard algorithms,
which will help to reduce the quantity of data that
would otherwise need to be collected, transferred, and
processed off line. Information can be presented in
many ways, including graphical displays or a two-page
vehicle usage summary report.
AMSAA continues to meet with customers to further
identify the type of information they need and how
they would like it displayed. The data flow processes
from acquisition to reporting are being refined, and
AMSAA is phasing in usage, diagnostic, and prognostic
algorithms for verification and validation as
they are developed. AMSAA continues to work with
Soldiers, private industry, and other Government organizations
to develop a robust CBM process that will
result in improved readiness and significant logistics
cost savings to the Army. ALOG
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JULY–AUGUST 2008