Progress…
The DOCA project was structured into a series of work packages designed to cover every aspect of the research and development lifecycle — from consortium coordination and market-focused specification through to sensor development, electronics, software, testing, and validation. Below are the core work packages that guided the project from September 2012 to August 2014.
WP 1 — Consortium Management
The objective of this work package was to ensure a smooth running of the project, including communication between the consortium and the European Commission, so that all knowledge was created, managed, and disseminated in a coordinated and coherent manner. It covered all technical activities, financial and legal aspects, and ensured compliance with EC requirements for communication and reporting.
WP 2 — Exploitation and Dissemination
This work package focused on protecting project results, developing a viable business plan, and publishing outcomes to relevant stakeholders. It ensured that the innovations emerging from DOCA would reach the industries that needed them most — hospitals, pharmaceuticals, automotive, electronics, and other sectors dependent on high-purity compressed air.
WP 3 — Development of Functional Specifications
Ensuring a problem-oriented research approach and a strong market focus, this work package defined the functional and performance requirements for the online oil-detection sensor. It aligned the technical development with real-world industrial needs, targeting sensitivity in accordance with ISO-8573 Class 1 standards across liquid, aerosol, and vapor oil contaminants.
Additional work packages addressed sensor head development, electronics and signal processing, software and graphical user interface design, as well as rigorous testing and validation at consortium partner facilities — including industrial trials at PAJ and sensitivity verification at VSL using certified gas mixtures.
Project Acronym
DOCA — Detection of Oil in Compressed Air.
Funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme managed by the Research Executive Agency (REA) under Grant Agreement N. 286106. The project ran from 1 September 2012 to 30 August 2014.
For further details, visit the European Commission's research portal at ec.europa.eu/research.