National Academies Press: OpenBook

Powering the U.S. Army of the Future (2021)

Chapter: Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
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E

Abstracts of Selected White Papers

All Graphene Nano Ribbon on Diamond Substrate Energy Efficient Power Electronics Switch

Dr. Cemal Basaran

In order to meet current and emerging needs and deliver future force capabilities the U.S. Army needs to develop and implement the most sophisticated energy efficient power electronics technologies. This white paper focuses Army’s stated need for “increasing forces’ freedom of action through energy security and efficient power systems to provide desired power at the manned/unmanned platforms, at the system and personal levels.” Army requires “efficient and secure power systems for the forces to provide the required power when and where needed with great deal of reliability.” The existing power electronics systems are based on traditional metals, like copper and aluminum and traditional semiconductors. They cannot provide the future needs of the Army. Hence, there is a need to develop a new technology based on covalent bonded materials like graphene.

Insatiate demand for miniaturization of power electronics requires a substantial reduction in the dimensions of the components used in power electronics (such as metal interconnects and solder joints). At the same time, due to demand for faster and more functional power electronics that can operate at higher temperatures, there is an evolution toward higher voltages and higher power densities. These requirements lead to high current density in these components (>106 Amp/cm2). Physical limits to increasing the current density—and limiting further miniaturization—in

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

metals are electromigration and thermomigration phenomena. Electromigration in interconnect metal lines and solder joints is the major failure phenomenon in next generation power electronics As result there is a need to develop the next generation power electronics by replacing the traditional metals, with covalent bonded materials like Graphene Nano Ribbon which do not experience electromigration and thermomigration in the traditional sense.

The technology proposed in the white paper was developed by ONR funding in the last 10 years and recently, it was patented by USPTO (Patent No. US 10,593,778 B1). However, there is a need for funding to develop the technology needed to package it and manufacture it. Because it was funded by U.S. Navy, our patent requires U.S.-based manufacturing. Depending on the funding level, this device can be made available to U.S. Army in 5 to 7 years.

Converting Wastewater to Distributed Power and Energy: Addressing Two Critical Utility Needs of the Future Army with One Advanced Technology

Dr. Aaron C. Petri, Dr. Dawn Morrison, Mr. Nicholas Josefik, Mr. Nathan Peterson, and Dr. Kathryn Guy

The future Army multi-domain operations (MDO) force will face significant changes and challenges over the next 15 years in terms of who, where and how they fight, and the tools and technology they use and confront on the battlefield. What will not change is the Army’s need to supply consistent power and energy (P&E) to deployed forces, and the Army’s requirement to manage human wastewater. The bottom line: no matter where the future soldier goes or what they do, the saying “everybody poops” will continue to hold true. The Distributed Low-Energy Wastewater Treatment (DLEWT) system, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), is a compact, portable containerized wastewater treatment system that converts wastewater into P&E, and reusable water. As a Tier 1 technology, DLEWT has significant potential to increase operational energy and water endurance with a low-maintenance portable treatment system that will help future deployed forces overcome their dependence on resupply chain logistics. The DLEWT system uses a unique combination of advanced wastewater treatment technologies that offer at least 75 percent water reuse and energy harvesting. On average, 5.4 kilowatt hours of electricity can be generated per every 1,000 gallons of influent wastewater or 8.6 kWh/day for a battalion of 800 troops. We project that this technology will extend the tether of fuel and water in an MDO

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

environment reducing annual resupply convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan by 2,100 trips and saving over $45 million annually in fuel. Over 5 years, we estimate 175 water re-supply casualties could be avoided through implementation of DLEWT.

High Performance Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic Thermoelectric Panel

Dr. Hongbin Ma and Dr. Pengtao Wang

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and solar thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are two major technologies for direct solar-electricity generation. One of the primary challenges of solar PV and TEG is low solar-electricity efficiency. The proposed hybrid solar PV/TEG panel integrates state-of-the-art technologies of low concentrating solar photovoltaic (CPV) cells, solar TEG, oscillating heat pipe (OHP), and radiative sky cooling (RSC). Utilizing the extra high thermal conductivity of OHPs, CPV, TEG, and RSC can be effectively integrated to efficiently utilize the solar energy and generate electricity. The proposed hybrid solar panel can achieve a high solar electric efficiency of 40 percent with a power output of 100 W in 5 years and achieve an expected efficiency of 50 percent in 2035. The proposed PV/TEG panel has high reliability and durability, and requires no maintenance due to no mechanical moving parts. The proposed technology is now on the TRL-5, and on the TRL-7/8 within 5 years. The proposed PT/TEG panel supports the Army’s multi-domain operations as a basic unit of solar microgrids in installation and contingency basing, or as a single operational power source for “silent watching.” The efficiency and inertia of the proposed system will greatly benefit from the rapid expansion of the global solar panel market.

Multi-fuel Capable Hybrid-Electric Propulsion

Dr. Chol-Bum “Mike” Kweon

The Army’s multi-domain operations (MDO) will require extensive communications and information processing with the large number of unmanned systems which are teamed with manned systems in the future autonomous battlefield. Unmanned air and ground systems will play critical roles in executing new capabilities for MDO, especially in the close fight and deep maneuver areas. However, these advanced capabilities will require more energy and power. The current energy and power solutions for unmanned systems are extremely limited because technologies have not been developed in the power range from 5 to 200 kW. The Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

(CCDC ARL) initiated a new program, Multi-fuel Capable Hybrid-Electric Propulsion (MCHEP), to address the energy and power needs for the future autonomous systems. Specific technologies include ignition assistant, advanced aluminum alloys, advanced materials for fuel systems, advanced electrified turbocharging, and hybrid-electric optimization and integration technologies. These technology areas were formulated to address the fundamental challenges in materials, design, and sensing and control methods, to accelerate component technology development to meet the future Army requirements.

Hybrid Power Source for the Military Aircraft Fleet of the 2035 Environment

Mr. Manuel Mar

This paper presents a general overview of military air fleet energy consumption and emphasizes the development of hybrid power sources for aircraft. Technologies such as lithium ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are still under development to be scaled and used in airplanes. However, it is inevitable the introduction of these technologies in a mid-term scenario by the next decade of 2030. The numbers are excellent on paper with high-efficiency performance and excellent energy density but the scalability of these technologies is still a challenge. The main idea of this white paper is not proposing full electric or hydrogen fueled airplanes, instead they should still use hydrocarbons starting with at least 1 percent of electricity as part of energy power system.

Fuel Flexible Engine-Generators with High Power & Energy Densities for Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Soldiers

Dr. Sindhu Preetham Burugupally, Mr. Kyu Cho, Dr. Christopher Depcik, Ms. Alison Park, and Mr. Suman Saripalli

There are limitations to the range of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) along with critical power generation gaps for Soldiers stemming from the respectively low energy density of lithium (Li) ion batteries. The use of combustion using conventional fuels (liquid and gaseous based) can provide a significant range benefit for both UAS and Soldiers given their magnitude increase in mass and volume specific energy over Li-ion batteries. However, current internal combustion engines (ICEs) on the appropriate power generation scale needed (100-1000 W) are beset by low efficiencies. Here, employing the evolving technology of Additive Manufacturing (AM) changes the paradigm of construction for ICEs that

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

opens new avenues of efficiency while reducing size and weight. Current Tier 2 efforts at technology readiness level 4 by our group include the successful testing of an AM-enabled ICE fabricated in cooperation with the Army Research Laboratory. Looking toward 2035, utilizing advances in AM to move from this existing ICE to a novel free piston engine-linear generator design promises high efficiencies, fuel flexibility, and direct generation of electricity for hybrid configurations at a minimum of weight with reduced noise and exhaust signatures. This facilitates the single fuel forward concept while allowing for localized fuel compatibility and the continued advancement of alternative fuels. Overall, this enables Army multi-domain operations by delivering a modernized power and energy solution that draws upon an emerging technology.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Technology for Powering the U.S. Army of the Future

Dr. Nguyen Minh

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology has been considered and developed for a broad spectrum of power generation applications ranging from watt-sized devices to multi-megawatt power plants. The attractive features of the SOFC are its flexibility (fuel), compatibility (environment), capability (multifunction), adaptability (diverse application), and affordability (cost effectiveness). This presentation discusses the technological status and examines the key parameters of the technology critical to supporting the U.S. Army power and energy (P&E) needs for multi-domain operations in the 2035 time frame—namely, specific energy and power output, efficiency, weight and volume, durability, vulnerability to attack and disruption, portability/mobility, supply and maintenance concerns, investment and unit cost, safety issues, personnel training requirements, and policy and regulatory concerns.

Powering the U.S. Army of the Future

Mr. Shailesh Atreya, Dr. Chellappa Balan, and Ms. Tina Stoia

Power demands across the board for the U.S. Army are expected to grow significantly to support state-of-the-art and emerging equipment required for modern warfare. This discussion will address Boeing’s concept for non-traditional power generation for forward operating bases (FOBs), as well as solutions for “silent watch” operation of tanks and Bradley vehicles. FOBs are currently supported by large diesel-powered generator sets (gen-sets) that are noisy, inefficient, and emit high-temperature exhaust.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

Recent developments in SOFC technology enable a power plant, with a low acoustic signature, that is at least 50 percent more efficient than current diesel gen-sets. The fuel savings offered by an SOFC gen-set reduce operating costs and reduce the frequency of high-risk fuel transport in contested regions. Mobile platforms, such as tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, are required to operate in “silent watch” mode where they remain stationary and quiet for extended periods. In “silent watch” mode, the main engine remains off to conserve fuel and reduce acoustic and infrared (IR) signatures, but the use of batteries is limiting because the vehicle would need to periodically abandon “silent watch” mode as it turns on its engine to recharge the batteries. An SOFC-based auxiliary power unit, operating on diesel fuel, enables extended periods of “silent watch” with low acoustic and IR signatures.

Safe, High Energy and High Power Li-ion Batteries for Army Multi-domain Operations

Dr. Jiang Fan, Mr. Christopher Kompella, Dr. Lasantha Korala, and Dr. Dengguo Wu

The mobile power and energy (P&E) technologies are fundamental for all U.S. Army capabilities, and Li-ion batteries provide a ubiquitous solution in this regard due to their comparatively high energy/power density and reduced life-cycle cost. However, current state-of-the-art Li-ion battery technologies are incapable of delivering high energy/power output safely under degraded/hostile conditions. The American Lithium Energy Corporation (ALE) has been leading the efforts to fulfill the performance demands required for the Army to transform into multi-domain operations (MDO) force via innovating Li-ion battery technologies that can deliver high energy/power performance safely. As a domestic technology developer and cell manufacturer, this presentation will introduce ALE’s contribution to the past Department of Defense projects and performance of current generation of high energy/power Li-ion cells (18650 and pouch format). Furthermore, future performance targets and safety technologies that will enable transformation of Army into a MDO force will be discussed.

Cubic Boron Carbonitride for Advanced Electronic Applications to Modernizing Communications Technology

Dr. Eunja Kim and Dr. Sergey Tkachev

The key future technologies such as communication devices are based on extremely high frequency operations ranging from 3 to 300 GHz. Therefore, a significant support from advanced electronic materials is crucial to address high losses and high temperature instability occurring

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

at high frequencies. Here we propose to carry out a combined theory-experimental case study of cubic boron carbon nitride materials to advance the materials design concepts to develop new and improved materials and technologies based on diamond in future, as identified in Army Priority Research Area (2. RF Electronic Materials). Wide bandgap alongside high saturated electron drift velocity and electric breakdown field makes diamond the semiconductor of choice for high-power and high-frequency electronics. The temperature dependence of forward current power loss in high voltage diodes clearly demonstrates the superiority of diamond as a semiconductor of choice at elevated temperatures, which means heavy usage in development of advanced strategic technologies that are capable of reliably functioning in variable climates (e.g., rain, snow, hail, dust). Therefore, the proposed research based on our previous study is to support Army multi-domain operations in the 2035 environment, focusing on the synthesis, comprehensive investigation of this diamond based material by means of single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction and, thus, unambiguously establishing structure property relationships, Raman and Brillouin scattering spectroscopy, which is solely based on laser characterization/interaction with this material, Physical Property Measurement System and hardness measurement studies in combination with predictive power of computational physics at every step of progress in experimental development in order to enable revolutionary advances in future technologies through discovery and characterization.

Silent Lightweight Battlefield Power Source: Scalable from Soldier Wearable Power to Platform Power

Dr. Ivan Čelanović, Dr. Walker Chan, and Dr. John Joannopoulos

We have developed a generator that fits in the palm of the hand. Based on a high-temperature nanophotonics enabled thermophotovoltaic conversion process, it has no moving parts, can operate on almost any fuel (liquid or gaseous), and exceeds 10 times the energy density of lithium batteries. The nanophotonics-enabled thermophotovoltaic generator comprises a microcombustor that heats a photonic crystal emitter to incandescence and the resulting tailored thermal radiation drives low-bandgap photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. This portable power generation platform is a result of years of research and development in four areas: design, fabrication, and packaging of high-temperature nanophotonic crystals as selective thermal radiation emitters; design of advanced super-alloy high-T microcombustors that are easy to manufacture and low-cost; low-bandgap III-V photovoltaic diodes; and advanced system level design and optimization.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×

A Research and Development Program to Meet the U.S. Army’s Emerging Power and Energy Needs

Dr. Robert Hebner

Transportation electrification is stimulating the development of technology to achieve high power and energy density mobile power systems. The Navy and Air Force focus on electric ships and aircraft are adapting many of these technologies to military needs. While this provides a massive technology base to exploit, the Army also has a unique power management challenge. The envisioned hybrid man-machine units do not share energy via a platform specific grid. This has led to research at the U.S. Military Academy on understanding the management, location, use and fungibility of the unit’s energy. This is research that the Army will need to pioneer.

Considering our research and that of others, the required system improvements can be achieved by balanced research and development in power and energy density, motors/generators, power electronics, electrical insulation, energy storage, prime power, thermal management, and machine learning.

Toward Multi-Modal Army Base Energy Management Systems: The Arctic Resilient Intelligent Integrated Energy System (ARIIES) Case

Dr. Amro Farid

This white paper advocates for the development of Multi-Modal Army Base Energy Management Systems (M2ABEMS). As an example, it describes the Arctic Resilient Intelligent Integrated Energy System (ARIIES) project which is currently ongoing at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College as part of a subcontract from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. The ARIIES project is developing a real-time, multi-modal, energy management system that optimizes the supply, demand, and storage of energy for an Arctic military base’s operations. Unlike other energy management systems found either in electric microgrids or district heating systems, this system is multi-modal. It provides a systems understanding of energy needs and flows in Arctic bases and key control levers to increase energy services and reliability per unity of energy consumed. It identifies system integration opportunities and challenges so as to enable energy managers to lower costs, increase reliability, and increase energy services in response to the needs of a calibrated force posture in recognition of the degraded and often hostile conditions of the extreme Arctic climate.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 151
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 152
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 153
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 154
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 155
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 156
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 157
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abstracts of Selected White Papers." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Powering the U.S. Army of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26052.
×
Page 158
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At the request of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, Powering the U.S. Army of the Future examines the U.S. Army's future power requirements for sustaining a multi-domain operational conflict and considers to what extent emerging power generation and transmission technologies can achieve the Army's operational power requirements in 2035. The study was based on one operational usage case identified by the Army as part of its ongoing efforts in multi-domain operations. The recommendations contained in this report are meant to help inform the Army's investment priorities in technologies to help ensure that the power requirements of the Army's future capability needs are achieved.

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