Tunable O2 Generation for UUVs

The majority of the unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) run on batteries. However, extended missions (or high-power, short-duration missions) require a much higher energy density than can be stored in batteries. Fuel cells, such as the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFCs) Systems, can be very efficient and provide much better energy storage density. However, the SOFC generators require an ample supply of high quality oxygen (O2) to oxidize the energy dense heavy hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., JP-5). The oxygen storage system must be safe, reliable, highly compact and deliver the oxygen at a rate that adjusts to meet varying power loads of the UUV. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes to develop an efficient, compact and highly tunable oxygen generation system to support different load profiles of UUV missions. In Phase I, we will carry out a comprehensive design of an oxygen storage and delivery system for a 2.5 kWe SOFC power generator and test key aspects of proposed system at bench-scale to demonstrate the viability of the approach.