USS Gerald R Ford Equipped with Chart Qdrive Cryocooler and RIX Industries Compressor Technology

The first aircraft carrier in the Ford-Class (CVN-78) is in the final stages of construction and testing and scheduled to join the U.S. Navy fleet in 2016. On board, the USS Gerald R. Ford’s liquid oxygen generating plant, developed by innovator in compressor and pneumatic technologies, RIX Industries, incorporates Chart’s state of the art Qdrive® Acoustic-Stirling Liquefier that will decrease ownership cost by reducing operational manpower and virtually eliminate maintenance, while delivering additional benefits in safety, life-cycle, performance, and control.

Led by RIX Industries and charged by the US Navy and Huntington Ingalls , Chart was part of the industry team that developed a next-generation system to succeed the oversized, energy-hungry distillation columns installed on all current US Navy nuclear powered carriers. As well as delivering on energy savings, the new system produces liquid oxygen 20 minutes from start-up, improving upon almost 24 hours with conventional technology, and is impervious to rolls and lists, which means uninterrupted supply. In addition, the size and weight of the plant is approximately 50% of its predecessor, helping the Navy attain their overall reduction goals.

“Chart is proud to supply our advanced Qdrive® liquefier technology and equipment to this first Navy installation by RIX Industries; bringing compact, reliable and efficient liquefaction capability to this critical shipboard system” said John Corey, VP Innovation and Engineering at Chart.

To find out more about RIX Industries innovative compressor technologies, please go to their website at www.rixindustries.com .

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