Topic

OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Advanced Materials OBJECTIVE: Develop a triboelectric, thermoelectric and/or piezoelectric coating for use on ordnance to augment or replace onboard batteries. DESCRIPTION: As ordnance become more advanced, the electronic requirements grow. Currently batteries are widely used across the portfolio, however these batteries take up valuable internal space and have shelf lives. In the development of a triboelectric, thermoelectric, piezoelectric coating, or some combination, it is possible to lower the reliance on batteries for advanced munitions. This coating should be able to convert the excess heat and deformations from detonation and flight to generate a usable electrical current. The goal in the development and use of these coatings is to lower the dependence on batteries for fuses. This would allow for new, innovative fuse designs, space optimization within a munition, and longer shelf life and stability of fused munitions. PHASE I: This topic is only accepting Phase I proposals for a cost up to $250,000 for a 6-month period of performance.  Detailed reports of the feasibility of the topic, including expected costs for Phase II testing and beyond for each award. It is important that this report also includes a plan for commercialization of this technology from each award. PHASE II: Initial test batching and application of the coating to test and meet requirements. The remainder of Phase II will be used to for application testing on a specific product. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Final selection, integration, and commercialization. Focus on integration into the chosen program in preparation for large scale manufacturing/production using the coating. Today piezoelectricity is considered one of the highly recommended energies harvesting source along with sensors. Companies like Boeing, airbus, rolls Royce and Samsung has started to expand their portfolio in it. While this technology is maturing, triboelectric and thermoelectric has also seen a significant development over the years and companies like Boeing, Murata, IBM, QORVO, AIRBUS, etc. has started to see a potential in these technologies. According to the latest online reports, average projected growth of piezoelectric is 7% CAGR until 2030 with heavy requirements in automotive, healthcare, aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, manufacturing and other industries. Similarly, although triboelectric and thermoelectric are in early phases of developments the average of forecasted projected online growth is 48.55% between 2019-2025 and 12-14% between 2022-2030 respectively. REFERENCES: 1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-017-0007-8 2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11998-023-00819-x 3. https://www.graphene-info.com/researchers-develop-novel-graphene-coating-converts-waste-heat-electrical KEYWORDS: Triboelectric; Thermoelectric; Piezoelectric; Power; Coating; Battery