Naval Engineers Create 3-D Model USS Texas for Emergency Responders

A team of engineers from Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES), Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock recently completed a 3-D computer animation model of the interior of Virginia-class submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) to help emergency response personnel navigate the ship during a flood or fire.

Training exercises revealed the difficulty emergency personnel face combatting fires aboard submarines because of not knowing how to access particular spaces. The virtual walkthrough helps crews plan how to get to spaces efficiently during training and real emergency situations. The engineering team spent three weeks at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard scanning the submarine followed by a few months in post-production to create the virtual environment.

“The videos give the emergency personnel a true awareness as to where they are on the ship and the equipment around them,” said Caitlin Swec, sail systems engineering branch. “We were able to create an immersive environment that should help train the emergency personnel to get to the proper space in the most efficient manner.”

The final computer-generated model is an animated walk-through of multiple pre-planned paths from the submarine’s main hatch to areas on all three platforms forward of the watertight door. The team created six virtual routes, one of which is the path to get to the engine room where the threat of fire is much higher.

The goal is for emergency responders to receive guidance from their counterparts using the computer model to get to the shipboard incident quickly, suppress the problem, and minimize damage to the submarine.

The Ship Systems Engineering Station, Philadelphia, is a major component of Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. It is the Navy’s principal test and evaluation station and in-service engineering agent for all hull, mechanical and electrical ship systems and equipment and has the capability to test and engineer the full range of shipboard systems and equipment from full-scale propulsion systems to digital controls and electric power systems.

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Press Release, July 25, 2014; Image: US Navy