ARLINGTON, Va.—Similar to how blood can be used to assess the overall health of a person, analyzing liquids such as hydraulic lubricants and fuel can ascertain the working condition of military equipment onboard ships, aircraft, or vehicles.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) — in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Naval Sea Systems Command, and AMETEK Spectro Scientific — has sponsored the development of an integrated tool to make such an analysis faster, easier, and mobile. It’s called the Portable Fluid Analyzer Plus (PFA+).
“This is an exciting tool that will help maintain the readiness of our forward-deployed and expeditionary forces,” said Capt. Steven Tarr III, the military deputy in ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons Department. “Having the ability to quickly perform critical analysis on the health of equipment is absolutely vital to mission success.”