NNS to Christen Delaware Oct. 20 10 l 8 l 2018
Newport News Shipbuilding will christen Delaware (SSN 791) at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 20. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in September, but was postponed due to Hurricane Florence. The new date was mutually decided on by Newport News Shipbuilding, the Navy and Ship’s Sponsor Dr. Jill Biden in an effort to hold the event as soon as possible and minimize impacts to the submarine’s construction schedule.
A weekly publication of Newport News Shipbuilding
“We realize the new date conflicts with the American Heart Association’s Peninsula Heart Walk,” said Dave Bolcar, vice president of Virginia-Class Submarine Construction. “Typically, we try our best to ensure events do not overlap. However, in this circumstance, we had a small window of time to reschedule and ensure the ship... CONTINUED ON PG 3
Shawn Harrison, left, and Kevin Leiton use Newport News Shipbuilding's wind tunnel. Photo by Ashley Cowan
Wind Tunnel Supports Decades of Innovation It is common knowledge that wind tunnels are a major feature at NASA Langley in Hampton, but shipbuilders may be surprised to find out Newport News Shipbuilding is home to a wind tunnel of its own. Wind tunnels are used to measure and observe aerodynamic characteristics as air passes over a given body during testing. They also can predict the reaction of fluids such as water, which make them valuable tools for modern-day shipbuilding. NNS’ wind tunnel is relatively small at 4 feet tall, 10 feet wide and 20 feet long. It is at least five decades old and was originally used to ensure the flow of smoke from steam ships would not obscure the view of the bridge as the wind blew from various directions. First housed in an engineering lab that stood where Dorothy now rests, the wind tunnel was relocated in the 1960s to its current home in Bldg. 16. It was used prominently to perform testing for the Double Eagle tanker design and for Seawolf-class submarines. Today, NNS’ wind tunnel continues to play an important role at the company. It is being used to develop and test new designs with the aid of additive manufacturing technologies to quickly build accurate scale models. Current testing involves the Newport News Experimental Model (NNEMO), which has been used as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for testing NNS undersea technologies. CONTINUED ON PG 3
Shipbuilder Honored at National Conference Dede Dolkar, a material process engineer at Newport News Shipbuilding, received a Promising Professional award during the 2018 Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) National Conference and STEM Career Fair, held last week in Schaumburg, Illinois. Dolkar was recognized as an early career professional who demonstrates tremendous potential for future contributions to the fields of science and engineering. Founded in 2007, SASE works to help Asian heritage scientific and engineering professionals achieve their full potential. The society’s achievement awards recognize Asian and Pacific Islander American students and professionals for work in their respective fields.