Case Study: the U.K. Royal Navy qualifies battle-ready pumps with Thornton Tomasetti shock testing

U.K. Royal Navy completes pump shock qualification in 5 milliseconds with Thornton Tomasetti

The U.K. Royal Navy required a range of pump sets for its vessels to be qualified as battle-ready, having passed all other environmental tests except for the rigorous shock testing. Thornton Tomasetti was contracted to perform this final shock qualification to determine if the equipment from manufacturer DESMI could function under battlefield conditions.

Thornton Tomasetti designed and executed a complex shock testing protocol using its proprietary air gun technology and underwater explosives to simulate the shock wave from an explosion. The tests, which involved running pumps installed in a simulated ship environment, were successfully completed in the summer of 2017. As a result, the DESMI pumps met the Royal Navy's standards and were approved for installation on its vessels.