Novel Electrical Power Generation Technology for Hypersonic Flight Vehicles

Future Navy Global Strike or DARPA Tactical Boost Glide hypersonic vehicles will need compact, high temperature-compatible power sources for onboard systems. The vehicles will perform short duration missions (~20 ? 30 minutes) at high Mach numbers (~ 10). At these flight speeds the aerodynamically heated vehicle structure is a potential high temperature source for running a heat engine to produce power. Physical Sciences Inc., collaborating with the Boeing Company, proposes a novel hypersonic flow energy scavenging approach. It is based on solid state devices that operate at ~1000 - 1500 K, and convert thermal energy to electrical energy at efficiency > ~ 35%. The devices have ~ 5X the energy density of thermoelectrics for the same mission duration. They can be integrated as thin lightweight tiles behind the hot vehicle structure. Under Phase I Baseline, we will develop thermal designs for the devices via modeling and key laboratory experiments, with further optimization and experimental validation under Phase I Option. The Boeing Company will analyze design tradeoffs for device integration into hypersonic vehicles. In Phase II prototype devices will be developed and demonstrated in relevant thermal and mechanical environments.