Thermal Conversion Device for Hydrothermal Vents

Underwater sensors, unmanned underwater vehicles, and other autonomous systems can all benefit from the availability of energy in remote or deep locations. In a Phase I effort, Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) designed a modular, solid-state thermoelectric generator (TEG), based on the Seebeck/Peltier effect, using customized available components to extract electrical power from high temperature geothermal vents in deep sea areas. Research into this 20 kilowatt system and its deployment method addressed exposure to corrosive liquids, simultaneous hot and cold temperature extremes, very high ambient pressures, fouling by solids precipitated from cooling vent effluent, abrasion by suspended particles, and encrustation by sulfur oxidizing bacteria and other organisms that make up the local vent ecosystem. MAPC now proposes Phase II of this research, including experiments and tests to verify the approach to corrosion, plating, and biofouling prevention, fabrication and testing of the modules on which the TEG is based, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), and design of a deployment system. Successful results will lead to development of a brassboard prototype and the opportunity for commercialization of this product.