Thermal Insulating Coatings

The installation of traditionally formed insulation is labor-intensive, requiring manual application of adhesives and fitting each insulation piece individually. Approximately 210,000 linear feet of insulation is required for CVN 78 Class aircraft carrier non-nuclear piping systems alone. Over 1.5 million labor-hours were spent hand fitting pipe and ventilation insulation on CVN 78 Class aircraft carriers. Hand labor consumes 95 percent of the cost to install insulation.

The purpose of this Composites Manufacturing Technology Center (CMTC) project is to test and validate the service properties of thermal insulation products for insulation applications. Additionally, the project will develop new implementation requirements, including facility and equipment specifications, build strategies, and in-service testing plans.

The anticipated labor cost savings of a sprayable thermal insulating coating, as opposed to the current hand-fitted process, is approximately $25.0M per CVN 78 Class Aircraft Carrier, assuming a 50 percent replacement of formed insulation. Approved TIC will offer naval shipbuilding insulators that are currently unavailable, addressing the widespread chronic issues present in the fleet today.

The primary challenge for successful implementation is reallocating labor resources from hand-applying insulation to applying coatings. This will include the need for new designated facilities, equipment, defined process lanes, and the associated procedures governing the applications. Coating application is a standard practice in shipbuilding. The main focus of the training will be on the successful application of the new product to achieve the specified thicknesses and determining the optimal environment for this process. The target implementation platform will be CVN 80 / 81. The opportunity for implementation on CVN 80 will be dependent on when a thermal insulating coating may reach the approval stage. As a result, there may be a partial opportunity for CVN 80, along with a full opportunity for CVN 81 and other surface ship platforms in 1Q FY2025.

*Prepared under ONR Contract N00014-21-D-7001 as part of the Navy ManTech Program.

*DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. DCN# 2024-11-6-309 ; Approval Date: 11/14/2024