Challenge
M2S was tasked with providing a fully self-sufficient, re-deployable shelter solution with configurable capacity for 50-200 people. Providing short-term office working space and accommodation with basic amenities, the shelters needed to have the capability to be deployed to isolated communities by land, sea, or air with suitable logistical footprint.
Design
Leading a small team of specialist contactors, M2S established and then refined the shelter design to meet the following key specifications:
- Quick to deploy without dedicated specialist equipment.
- Easy to build and fold down in less than one hour.
- Simple to train shelter build, recovery, and maintenance.
- Low logistical burden, handling for the largest shelter requiring only four people.
- All equipment packed to fit on an air freight pallet.
- Lightweight without compromising strength.
- Thermally efficient in high and low temperature to reduce fuel burden.
- Fitted for climate control.
- Able to withstand extreme conditions, with resistance to high wind speeds rated above 100km/hr and snow load across the roof area.
- Raised floor to prevent water ingress up to 200mm deep.
- Easy to scale from small camps to large 200+ personnel.
- Simple ablution capability – either integrated or with efficient interface to external units.
- Access for disabled/limited mobility personnel.
Testing
To ensure the final design met all the required criteria, M2S co-ordinated an extensive program of prototype testing:
- Wind loads of steady 120km/h with multiple 10 second gusts at 150km/h.
- External Temperature Test 1, -31.7°C, solar radiation off and wind speed of 3m/s. The average internal temperature was +18.1°C.
- External Temperature Test 2, +48.6°C, solar radiation on 1120W/m2 and wind speed of 3m/s. The average internal temperature was +23.6°C.
- Shelter build and dismantled 50 times in repetition, using four personnel, without failure both in normal and low light conditions (NATICK Test Centre, USA).
- Snow load test placed representative mats over the roof area exerting a force of 50kg/m2 on shelter frame and canvas for 12 hours – deflection of the frame did not exceed 30mm when fully loaded (NATICK Test Centre, USA).
- Packing tests were also carried out for all shelter sizes and life support equipment. All camp equipment was able to fit onto a 463L Master Pallets (HCU-6/E) or Unit Load Device (ULD) measuring 307(L) x 232(W) x 157(H)cm suitable for military and civilian aircraft.
Solution
Key features of the final M2S Emergency Shelter Camp solution included:
- Large open plan dormitory accommodation, easily adaptable with internal divider curtains to provide individual sleeping cabins with 3.5m2 of floor space.
- Easy door-to-door connections enabling larger camp complexes to be built.
- Pre-fitted to accept lighting, power distribution and communication systems.
- Pre-fitted to accept environmental control units with distribution ducts evenly spreading conditioned air across the whole internal space.
- Interface connections to kitchen and toilet facilities.
- Easy-to-build basic frame and PVC canvas, completed by four people in less than five minutes. (Complete shelter with sunshield, internal liner, plastic flooring, lighting, power points and air conditioning able to be built by six people in thirty minutes).
- All shelter materials meet British and Australian Fire Standards for temporary structures. All shelters have dedicated pockets for smoke and heat detectors.
- Tannoy PA communication systems to guide people through the shelter system can also be fitted and connected to a central control room.
Impact
M2S Emergency Shelter Camps have been successfully deployed in real-world applications across Europe, Africa, and South America. The easy-to-build system delivers the highest resilience to extreme environmental conditions, with the three-layer shelter design ensuring users have outstanding control over internal temperatures, offering real comfort in both high and low temperature environments.
