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Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a research program from the U.S. Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center, to develop an emergency man-portable device capable of cutting a suspended 1-inch or greater steel cable at cargo transfer stations during Connected Underway Replenishment (CONREP).

If an emergency breakaway is initiated, the ship’s crew needs a safe, reliable, and ergonomic device to cut highline cables. PSI’s novel Hydraulic Pneumatic Hybrid Emergency (HyPHE) Cutter device is capable of reliably and safely cut a 1 to 1.5-inch steel cable in under one second. The HyPHE Cutter is a completely self-contained system that does not rely on the ship’s utilities to operate, eliminating the risk of failure due to outages. The system also has the added benefit of being capable of cutting up to three 1-inch steel cables before needing to be reloaded, eliminating the risk of failure due to misfire. The system is designed to be light-weight and simple to use.

The HyPHE cable cutter will have direct application to underway replenishment (UNREP) operations for the U.S. Navy and eventually across the armed forces and civilian markets. Specifically the oil, gas, towing, and rigging industries can use this technology to improve safety and reduce training and logistics overhead.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Sean Torrez
Group Leader, Deployable Technologies
storrez@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003