N161-065 TITLE: Ocean Sensing Lab on a Chip

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Submarine Corrosion Control Technologies Future Naval Capabilities (FNC) Program

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

OBJECTIVE: Create a ruggedized Lab on a Chip (LoC) that can be integrated into a shipboard corrosion control system to measure ocean water chemistry.

DESCRIPTION: The Office of Naval Research seeks proposals to perform in-situ monitoring of oceanographic chemical parameters employing ruggedized, hull-mounted (external) sensor systems. Underwater hull corrosion protection is performed by the Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP), an advanced control system which balances the distribution of electrical energy required to provide corrosion protection to the hull, propeller, and significant hull appendages. This control system responds to the electrochemical polarization demand of these surfaces, and employs feedback voltage from seawater silver/silver-chloride seawater reference electrodes, measured against the voltage of the ship�s hull. Evolution of electrochemical cathodic surface polarization, as well as environmental instability of reference electrodes, is a direct product of seawater chemistry in the hydrodynamic boundary layer on the hull.

Precision of measured oceanographic chemical parameters sought for this application include: temperature (� 0.1�C), pH (�0.01 units), conductivity (� 1.0mS/m), dissolved oxygen (�0.01mg/l), chloride (�0.1mg/l), bromide (�0.01mg/l), sodium (�0.1mg/l), calcium (�0.1mg/l), sulfate (�0.1mg/l) and sulfide (�0.1mg/l). A sampling rate of at least one oceanographic chemical assessment every minute will be required during operation. Ranges of chemical parameters measured must satisfy global oceanographic and littoral estuarine chemistry ranges for navigable waterways.

Recent advances in LoC technologies have reported field sampling of relevant oceanographic chemical parameters of interest described above[1]. LoC sensing technology has successfully demonstrated the measurement accuracy of many of the above parameters of interest in controlled laboratory environments with small form factors [Collaborative for Oceanographic Chemical Analysis], however they have not been demonstrated in ocean environments with complex backgrounds (all the parameters varying) and environmental fouling over extended periods of time. This topic seeks to integrate the sensors of interest onto a single miniaturized LoC that would work in real-world ocean environments (e.g. with biofouling, under pressure, and having all the parameters varying at once) and meet the Navy's goal of a 20 year lifetime. The ICCP reference electrodes are contained in packages measuring 10.0 cm (width) X 7.5 cm (length) X 5.0 cm (depth). A proposed LoC sensor must integrate into this package without impacting the reference electrode performance. Furthermore, the LoC sensor should be installable shipboard at a reasonable production cost, and be ruggedized for shock according to MIL-STD-901 (Shock, Grade B) and vibration according to MIL-STD-167-1A.

PHASE I: Determine feasibility for the development of a ruggedized Lab on a Chip that can be integrated into a shipboard corrosion control system to measure ocean water chemistry. Feasibility can be demonstrated through simultaneous sensing of the key oceanographic chemical parameters, pertinent to corrosion control, on an integrated circuit package in a laboratory environment.

PHASE II: Based on Phase I effort, develop a prototype Lab on a Chip and integrate the sensor package into a shipboard ICCP reference electrode holder, and demonstrate sensor operation for a minimum of six months in a natural seawater environment.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Integrate the final design sensor package into shipboard ICCP architecture, install the sensor aboard ship at multiple reference electrode locations and demonstrate operation of the sensor package aboard ship for a minimum of two years. Support the Navy with certifying and qualifying the system for Navy use. When appropriate focus on scaling up manufacturing capabilities and commercialization plans. The developed technology will find application in commercial ship hull corrosion protection where previously impressed current corrosion protection has been impractical due to the ongoing maintenance and calibration requirements of such systems.

REFERENCES:

1. Chris Measures, "The Collaborative on Oceanography and Chemical Analysis (COCA) and suggestions for future instrumental analysis methods in chemical oceanography," Annual Meeting of the COCA Collaborative, June 2014, http://media.journals.elsevier.com/

2. Jonas Jonsson, Katarina Smedfors, Leif Nyholm, and Greger Thornell, "Towards Chip-Based Salinity Measurements for Small Submersibles and Biologgers," International Journal of Oceanography, vol. 2013, Article ID 529674, 11 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/529674

KEYWORDS: Oceanographic chemical analysis, corrosion control, cathodic protection, impressed current cathodic protection, lab on a chip, water chemistry

TPOC-1: Geoffrey Main

Email: [email protected]

TPOC-2: Farrel Martin

Email: [email protected]

TPOC-3: Stephen Potashnik

Email: [email protected]

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** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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