Emerson and Tekgard’s collaborative success in addressing a critical challenge in military Environmental Control Units (ECUs) highlights their effective teamwork and innovative solution, ensuring reliability for U.S. Army applications.
The successful partnership between Emerson and Tekgard was marked by teamwork, transparent communication, and collaboration, leveraging Emerson’s resources and expertise. This collective effort led to the identification of a solution in under two weeks. Notably, there was a notable reduction in product and material loss achieved within a compressed timeframe. The affected unit underwent a swift retrofitting process, effectively meeting the requirements of the U.S. Army.
Application
In their military applications, Tekgard relies exclusively on Copeland™ fixed and digital scroll compressors. Their collaboration with Emerson is driven by the extensive array of Copeland product options, coupled with Emerson’s outstanding reputation in the industry. The decision to partner with Emerson is rooted in the desire for a trustworthy company that would not only meet their needs but also enhance Tekgard’s credibility.
Challenge
Tekgard specializes in the production and supply of Environmental Control Units (ECUs) for military applications, specifically catering to the U.S. Army. These units undergo stringent qualification testing to ensure compliance with rigorous military standards and specifications, encompassing severe shock and vibration criteria, as well as enduring significant collision impacts. The necessity for meeting these standards arises from the challenging natural and manmade environments these units regularly encounter. Furthermore, they must withstand various transportation methods, including air transportation with hard impact landings and railcar coupling collisions, involving substantial vibrations and sudden jarring. The units must also endure extreme terrains and environments when used with High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs). Faced with the critical challenge of cracking unloader valve tubing on a new model, Tekgard swiftly recognized the need for a timely solution. The tubing breakages commenced after transitioning from R407C digital compressors to R-410A single-phase digital compressors. This change, coupled with a modified mounting configuration for the mobile application, induced harmonic resonance, leading to vibration in the unloader valve. The resultant fatigue caused tubing breakages near the suction line connection at the bottom of the unloader valve.
Solution
Despite the issue not originating from Copeland compressors, Tekgard proactively reached out to Emerson with the intention of collaborating, exchanging data, and uncovering the root cause of the problem. Following this initiative, Tekgard shipped their Environmental Control Unit (ECU) to the labs in Sidney, Ohio, where Emerson’s experts utilized their resources, including cutting-edge labs, equipment, and expertise in electronics and vibration harmonics. The Applied Mechanics group, leveraging these assets, successfully identified the problem and verified the efficacy of a proposed unloader valve bracket. This swift collaboration led to a design improvement and retrofit, effectively restoring the reliability of these ECUs.
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