Micro Fuel Pumps for Small, Heavy Fuel Engines

Turnkey Design Services, LLC of Blue Island, IL proposes to create a small lightweight “smart” fuel pump for unmanned vehicles using a small very efficient brushless motor with integrated controls and an internally-generated rotor pump. The overall size of the motor driven pump including electronics is about 2.5 ” long x 1” diameter. The proposed pump provides flow metering capability by adjusting the motor speed. The proposed motor uses high energy density rare earth magnets and specially designed windings to create the best efficiency for the required operating range of the pump. The controller is sensor less in order to eliminate the need for hall effects which take a significant amount of space. The smart pump is capable of monitoring and transmitting its current health status, as well as monitoring sensors for use in its internal control algorithms. The smart pump would be able to determine its rotary position, drive the pump to the commanded rotary speed (or flow), while managing its speed within a certain tolerance.