Solid State Heat Pumps

The goal of this project is to produce prototypes of a modular solid state heat pump based on a novel thermoelastic effect. The heat pumps will be tested in a portable, battery powered cooler for a chemical suit, such as those used in environments subjected to bio-chemical attacks. The new thermoelastic heat pump is particularly suited for such an application because it has high power density (so it can be small and lightweight), and has high efficiency (so it can operate for long periods of time on battery power). The heat pump units to be produced are robust, having no sliding seals, valves, timing trains, etc. and may be easily connected to heat exchangers for a wide variety of applications, in addition to the chem suit application. The thermoelastic effect is reversible, so that modules may be used as electrical power generators, using heat (possibly waste heat) as input.