Vapor Electrostatic Condensator System (VELCOS)

"A critical need for Army storage facilities is a new technology for humidity control that has very low requirements for maintenance and energy. Conventional dehumidification technologies use either the condensation of moisture below the saturationtemperature of air or direct absorption of water molecules by a desiccant material. Both technologies are energy consuming because they use a difference of chemical potentials that is produced by cooling the air or heating the desiccant material(regeneration). To meet Army's need, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop an innovative new technology for humidity control, the Vapor Electrostatic Condensation System (VELCOS). The VELCOS will use the motion of dipoles in the gradientof an electric field (dielectrophoresis) and the spatial distribution of electric potential in heterogeneous media. In Phase I, POC will develop a theoretical model of the VELCOS, identify the governing parameters for the motion of water molecules,formulate the qualitative relationship between needed energy and the mass of removed water, develop and bench-scale test system, and use test results for evaluation and revision of the theoretical model. In Phase II, POC will develop and demonstrate aVELCOS prototype and test it under field conditions. The VELCOS technology can be incorporated by a variety of military applications, including field storage facilities, command facilities, and battle vehicl