Transfield Defence Systems, Melbourne, Australia – Catastrophic failure of the port drive shaft on the Australian naval frigate, HMAS Anzac, led to expensive dry-dock repairs. Potential variations in the newly installed drive system could invalidate computer controlled power, speed and trim settings for the vessel which utilized variable pitch propeller blades in addition to shaft speed to control power.
How could the Navy quickly test the repaired ship to verify equal load sharing between the port and starboard drives?
Micro-Measurements strain gages and temporary diagnostic telemetry was installed by Binsfeld Testing Services. Torque measurements made during a two day sea trial confirmed equal load sharing and validated existing computer performance settings.