TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PM Expeditionary Power ACAT III

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: The Marine Corps is looking for innovative design concepts to allow small (less than 5 kW) generators to run at partial loads without wet-stacking while improving overall fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. The generator must operate on JP-8 and high sulfur diesel fuels while meeting the EPA Tier 4 engine requirements. A balance of weight, fuel efficiency, reliability/durability and cost should be considered when selecting an approach for this topic.

DESCRIPTION: Current military generators less than 5 kW are often sized for the maximum loads experienced in a mission profile. These generators run at partial loads most of the time. The result is wet-stacking and poor fuel economy. Emissions control often uses exhaust after treatments which foul easily with high sulfur fuels used in some theaters of operation. Innovative concepts are needed to address these issues.

PHASE I: The Phase I effort should focus on scientific research and preliminary designs to be built and demonstrated in Phase II. Research should include, but not be limited to, load following engine controls, enhanced combustion, recovering and recycling unburned fuel from exhaust and hybrid power systems. The design concept selected in Phase I must work in a variety of mission profiles and environmental conditions. The system must operate at evaluated temperatures and humidity ranging from Hot (120°F) to Basic Cold (-24°F) climates and up to 95-percent relative humidity in elevations up to 8,000 feet and in harsh environments of high wind, wind-driven rain, sand, and dust. A trade study will be conducted to determine the best technical approach to be built and evaluated in Phase II. The results of Phase I will be documented in a technical report and briefed to the Marine Corps Systems Command to determine if a Phase II program should be pursued.

PHASE II: The Phase II effort will take the preliminary design generated in Phase I and produce two full sized operational prototypes for testing. The contractor shall develop a laboratory test plan to address, at a minimum: engine performance across temperature, dust, and altitude extremes; power output for regulation, quality, stability and transient response; durability testing of components and full system; and physical performance criteria for size, weight, noise, smoke, and fuel efficiency. Upon Government approval of the test plan, it shall be executed and results reported. The contractor shall make modifications as needed to successfully complete the test requirements. The contractor shall document and provide a Safety Assessment Report of the systems. At least 2 final prototypes or reconditioned/modified prototypes shall be delivered to the government after the contractor testing. These units will be used by the Government in field evaluations and the contractor shall support the evaluation with spare parts and technical advice. A final design review will be held to discuss test results and transition opportunities.

PHASE III: The contractor shall prepare a manufacturing plan and marketing plan to sell his product to the government as well as the private sector. The contractor will make the necessary teaming arrangements with the manufacturers of the components used in this product.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This system could be applied in any work environment where there is a requirement for portable power and energy systems with high transient loads and low constant loads. Any powered system that must operate in a remote location for an extended length of time would benefit from this project.

REFERENCES:
1. Novel Load Following Control of an Auxiliary Power Unit, Ximing Cheng; Fengchun Sun; Minggao Ouyang, Intelligent Control and Automation, 2006. WCICA 2006. The Sixth World Congress on Volume 2, Issue , 21-23 June 2006 Page(s): 8311 – 8313, Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/WCICA.2006.1713596.

2. The transient self-excitation of a switched reluctance generator, Schofield N, Long SA, Source: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 97 (10): Art. No. 10Q501 Part 3, MAY 15 2005.

3. Automotive Fuel Economy: How Far Can We Go?, Committee on Fuel Economy of Automobiles and Light Trucks, National Research Council.

4. Hybrid Power System with a Controlled Energy Storage, Eduard Muljadi, Senior Member, IEEE, Jan T. Bialasiewicz, Senior Member, IEEE.

5. Continuous Combustion General Purpose Engine System, Jerry E. Kashmerick, Kashmerick Engine Systems, LLC and Timothy A. Shedd, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

KEYWORDS: Wet-Stacking; Hybrid Power; Load Following; Recycling Unburned Fuel; Fuel Efficiency; Low Emissions.

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between April 21 and May 18, 2008, you may talk directly with the Topic Author(s) to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting May 19, 2008, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

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