Demonstration of a JP-8 Powered Compact ECU

Military shelters currently use electrically driven Environmental Control Units (ECUs) to provide cooling for the air inside the shelter. The ECU is vapor compression cycle powered by a diesel generator, operating on JP-8 fuel. Other than fueling jet engines, the largest drain on U.S. military fuel supplies in current operations comes from running generators at forward operating bases. In hot climates, ECUs consume the largest share of generated power. The overall fuel–to-cooling COP of current systems is about 0.45. The DoD seeks an improvement to an overall COP of 0.9. Prior DoD efforts have been unable to achieve a competitive COP and compact size. This proposal discloses a compact lightweight system to achieve the required COP, size, and weight. The goal of this STTR Phase I effort is to demonstrate experimentally the benefits of Mainstream’s system. This proposal contains the details of a JP-8 Fuel-Powered ECU cooling/heating system that will provide 5 tons of cooling, weigh less than the 575-pound limit (excluding fuel), and operate at ambient temperatures, ranging from -25°F to 130°F.