The Environmental Test Lab at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst held a ribbon-cutting for its new large vibration table on March 7. This new cutting-edge equipment will help lab personnel achieve their mission of supporting the warfighter.

“The Environmental Test Laboratory has become a key component in Lakehurst’s mission of rapidly providing quality, reliable, cost-effective products for our warfighters,” NAWCAD Lakehurst Executive Director Kathleen P. Donnelly said at the ceremony. “This machine, along with the expertise of our people, will play an important role in the product development cycle and our overall mission. Furthermore, since this large vibration testing capability has not been available to NAWCAD in the past, we expect to see further collaboration between NAWCAD commands.”

Lab manager Jonathan Myers said the table allows the lab to test equipment under simulated operational environmental conditions, finding potential critical design issues before deployment to the field or troubleshooting already fielded equipment. 

Myers said the machine operates similarly to an audio speaker without the cone; a coil of wire surrounds the armature. The direction and current will determine the direction and axial force output. The machine is powerful enough to create a maximum g load well beyond aircraft and other platforms where g forces can impact results.

“Remember, those maximum G’s are with zero weight on the system,” Myers said. “Once you start adding on heavy equipment, the G’s drop significantly. So, to be able to conduct vibration tests on heavy Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment and Support Equipment, we need a powerful machine.”

With a mountable area of 5’x5’, Myers said the table is big enough to hold almost everything Lakehurst works with and is so large it allows lab personnel to test more than one piece of equipment at a time.

A standard shipboard vibration test takes approximately one day per axis to complete testing, equating to three days total,” Myers said. “Systems come through the lab with five or more unique parts that all require vibration testing. That could take up to a month to test individually. But, with a machine like this, we can test all at once to significantly cut down that time.”

The table is not the only new addition to the lab. Power for machines, like the vibration table, is now funneled through one of its two new power conditioners. Myers said getting the conditioners was considerably more affordable than adding new electrical distribution to get “laboratory-grade power.” The successful installation of the machines for his lab has led to discussions with other Lakehurst facilities considering the potential benefits of the conditioners.

The table is the lab’s second significant Capital Improvement Project investment in a little more than a year. Last year, the lab unveiled its new Multi-Function Climactic Chamber. Donnelly said the two significant additions “further demonstrate NAWCAD’s commitment to our mission by enhancing the organic capabilities here.”

“Overall, the large vibration table and power conditioners are very important additions to the Environment Test Lab, Lakehurst and the Command,” Donnelly said. “I want to congratulate the Environmental Test Lab team. Their hard work, dedication, and persistence have allowed us to procure this machine. I look forward to the continued success of this machine and the lab.”