WATER AND FUEL EXPEDIENT REPAIR SYSTEM (WAFERS)

THE CHALLENGE:

The Air Force relied on their Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants Rapid Utility Repair Kit (POL RURK) to repair or recover mission essential fuel and water distribution systems. This kit was stored in 19 different containers that lacked uniform organization, making it difficult for users to expedient repairs or recoveries. Every minute counts when water and/or fuel aren’t available for airbase operations, so they needed to modernize the system.

THE SOLUTION:

ADS worked with Cave Systems and Highland Engineering to develop the Water and Fuel Expedient Repair System (WaFERS). The 19 containers were replaced with a set of 14 modular and scalable capability-based Unit Type Codes (UTCs)—a 26 percent reduction in containers.

The system enables expedient or semi-permanent repair of mission essential water and fuel distribution lines and storage systems that support airbase resiliency and combat sortie generation. WaFERS includes 11 Cave Systems containers, two Sea Box solutions and one Highland Engineering system.

SUCCESSES

WaFERS pump and filter UTCs can be used as an adjunct capability with the Fuels Operational Readiness Capability Equipment (FORCE) to get fuel to aircraft.

The technology refresh bypassed an operational pump house using WaFERS pumps, filters, and an array of pipes, fittings, and values feeding fuel into an operational hydrant systems. It achieves a flow rate of 1350 GPM at 170 psi, pushing fuel into a dead headed hydrant loop where trucks accepted fuel as surrogate aircraft.

Using WaFERS pumps and filters, users conducted functional tests to recover fuel from an operational cut and cover tank by extracting fuel from a depth of 35 feet and transferring it over three miles at a rate of 600 GPM to a second tank. They were also able to transfer fuel from the lowest elevation on base to the highest storage elevation at a distance of 2.5 miles at a rate of 1200 GPM.

Contact your ADS Representative to access the Resource Library WaFERS Resource Library