Description:
OBJECTIVE: Enable units with a light-weight, assault pack portable power generation and management capability that will decrease the amount of batteries carried and decrease dependency on logistical support and provide operational flexibility and facilitate the reallocation of combat and logistical resources in Tier 1 Warfighter environments with a light-weight small universal power converter. DESCRIPTION: The ability to provide Soldiers small light weight (<1 Lbs) universal power conversion that takes universal power from a variety of sources to include: 100-240V AC, 10W-300W solar panel/blanket, NATO Slave Adaptor, Cigarette Adaptor, 120V AC plug, 1KW GENSET, Car Battery ("Jumper Cable"), 300W and 50W Fuel Cells, and numerous batteries (BB2590, BA 5590, BB2557, BB390, BA 2800, BB-5800, MBITR (AN/PRC-148/152), Riflemen Radio, AN/PRC-154 Battery, AN/PRC-153 Battery, RCR-12, LI-80, LI-145, Conformal Battery) and provide clean power to a requisite items (10 to 20 VDC to a Soldier Power Manager or source 110VAC output power. The objectives of this effort are to miniaturize and provide enhanced power conversion from Solar that requires Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) (or numerous other DC input Sources) to either a fixed DC output (12 to 28 VDC) or convert solar power to a 110VAC output in a rugged, small, lightweight, efficient all weather package. This will be a bi-directional power device that can efficiently take generic 110-220 VAC and output a fixed DC Voltage (e.g. 12 -28 VDC) or take in various DC inputs from batteries, solar, fuel cells, noisy vehicles and convert to either a fixed (e.g. 12 -28 VDC) clean voltage or to a 110 VAC output. Item must operate in Soldier field operational environments (such as military standards for temperature hot / cold, vibration/shock/drop, rain. Sun, dust). Output: 150 Watt Threshold; 300 Watt Objective output power. Please note, US Government Support Contractors will be part of the Evaluation of Proposals for this topic. PHASE I: Identify potential technologies, including commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics, and analyze, design, and conduct proof-of-principle demonstrations 1) to verify that the proposed Warfighter Universal Power Converter design characteristics functions at ranges suitable for deployment and 2) to assess overall packaging to encompass size, weight, power, efficiency, heat, and ruggedness, and the ability to operate in Soldier Tier 1 (most austere - in woods/forward areas) environments. Provide proposed solutions that meet light-weight and small Soldier form factor size and power requirements. In order to be considered for this effort, the bidding firm must also show that they are capable of performing proof-of-principle experiments. PHASE II: Design, build, and test a Warfighter Universal Power Converter that utilizes COTS or newly designed high efficiency, small sized circuits based on power and packaging requirements. Requirements defined in this SBIR description and in referenced CDD below should be the basis of design and prototypes developed and tested. Other issues that should be addressed in Phase II are hardening the technology to survive Soldier environments, handling, and ease of use along with considerations for low-cost production processes for mass production. PHASE III: The Warfighter Universal Power Converter technology developed under phase II would be incorporated into the Expeditionary Soldier Systems for DoD (Army, USMC, USAF) Tier 1 mission operations and as applicable in many other environments from homeland security to commercial use in camping and in vehicles. This device would add a common capability to the Warfighter and reduce several pounds of weight on the Soldier's load as well as reduce size / volume for all Warfighter powered items to be employed in Tier 1 to Tier 3 environments. This light-weight, small efficient device would be employed ubiquitously across DoD services. REFERENCES: Capability Development Document For (U) Small Unit Power Increment: I ACAT: III Validation Authority: HQDA, Approval Authority: HQDA, Milestone Decision Authority: HQDA, Designation: Joint Information (CDTM Document Number: 12120110998 - v 1.01 generated on 5/22/2012) 6.3 (U) KPP/KSA/Other Attributes Rollup. (U) The SPM must provide dismounted squads and platoons the ability to operate independently without routine resupply for extended duration missions, (T=48 hours). The SPM must provide the capability to monitor state of charge while charging batteries by means of unit equipment. (T) State of charge indication shall be measured in percentage of total battery capacity within 5% accuracy of actual (T). System must have a visual indication when each battery is fully recharged (T). SPM must accept power from multiple sources, to include: 100-240V AC, 10W-300W solar panel/blanket, NATO Slave Adaptor, Cigarette Adaptor, 120V AC, 1KW GENSET, Car Battery ("Jumper Cable"), 300W and 50W Fuel Cells, and numerous batteries (BB2590, BA 5590, BB2557, BB390, BA 2800, BB-5800, MBITR, (AN/PRC-148/152), Riflemen Radio, AN/PRC-154 Battery, AN/PRC-153 Battery, RCR-12, LI-80, LI-145, Conformal Battery) (T). [2] Maxim Power Point Tracking - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_power_point_tracking [3] Military Environmental Tests (MIL-STD-810G): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIL-STD-810 [4] Military Operational Environments - http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/service_pubs/fm3_0a.pdf
