DEMO OF AN INNOVATIVE FOOD/BEVERAGE HEATING/COOLING CONTAINER

THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES FOUR INNOVATIVE RATION HEATING/COOLING CONCEPTS THAT USE NO MOVING PARTS OR EXTERNAL ELECTRICAL ENERGY. AS PART OF THIS PROPOSAL, AN INITIAL TRADE-OFF STUDY WAS PERFORMED WHICH REVEALED ONE CONCEPT WHICH IS SUPERIOR TO THE OTHERS, IS INEXPENSIVE, AND SATISFIES THE ARMY REQUIREMENTS. THIS PHASE I EFFORT WILL COMPLETELY INVESTIGATE AND DETERMINE THE BEST FOOD HEATING/ COOLING APPROACH WHEN CONSIDERING FACTORS SUCH AS THERMAL PERFORMANCE, COST, EASE OF USE, SAFETY, SIZE AND WEIGHT, MAINTAINABILITY, AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT OF THE RESULTING DESIGN. THE PHASE I EFFORT INCLUDES THE ANALYSIS, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF A PROTOTYPE FOOD HEATING/COOLING CANISTER FOR HEATING RATIONS AND COOLING A BEVERAGE WITHOUT AN EXTERNAL POWER SOURCE OF ANY KIND, AND WITHOUT THE USE OF ANY MOVING PARTS. A PRELIMINARY LAYOUT OF AN AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING AND PACKAGING SYSTEM FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THESE FOOD HEATING/COOLING CANISTERS WILL ALSO BE PERFORMED AS PART OF THE PHASE I EFFORT, SO THAT MANUFACTURING COST ESTIMATES, FOR THE SELECTED DESIGN, CAN BE ACCURATELY PERFORMED.