Sorption Pumped Individual Cooling Element

Today’s warfighter needs to drink over a gallon of water a day to compensate for water loss. If water is warm, soldiers drink less, which can result in dehydration. No current solution can cool 100 oz. of water by 20 degrees F and meet the 2 cu. in. volume and 0.5 lb. weight requirement. To meet the Navy need, POC proposes to develop a novel Sorption Pumped Individual Cooling element (SPICE) that will chill the beverage by the evaporation of water from the flow-through dispenser to the detachable absorber. In Phase I POC will research refrigerant and sorption materials, comparing the operational effectiveness, weight, size, cost, health hazards, safety, ruggedness, shelf life, and stability. These trade-off studies will determine the preferred characteristics of SPICE. POC will design and demonstrate at least proof-of-principle prototypes for the best alternative that will cool water by 20 degrees F in less than 10 seconds per once and meet the 8 oz. weight requirement. In Phase II POC will refine the design and will build and demonstrate a field-ready prototype to the Navy for use in combination with the 100 oz. OTMHS.