Thermally Adjusting Regulating Panels for Internal Thaw (TARP-IT) for Safely Thawing Frozen Food

"Foster-Miller proposes to develop Thermally Adjusting Regulating Panels for Internal Thaw (TARP-IT) to safely thaw frozen foods without the use of electricity. The TARP-IT kit will be designed in a modular fashion such that the panels can be easilytransported and stored. The panels can be quickly assembled to fit any size of frozen food pallet from the US Army's Unitized Group Ration (UGR), up to a maximum of about 80 square feet of surface area. Foster-Miller will explore several design concepts,including the use of novel phase change materials (PCMs) to regulate the temperature near the food surface to a constant 45F. A thermal model of the system will be used to predict effects of insulation, reflective materials, and phase changematerials on the thermal regulating capabilities of various blanket designs. Small-scale test articles will be fabricated and tested under simulated environmental conditions. Prototype panels will be fabricated in the Phase I option. An alternativeoption plan, incorporating novel liquid-vapor Phase Change Materials, is proposed in the event that greater thermal capacity than originally anticipated is required in the panel design. The Phase I program will focus on manufacturability and costconsiderations in addition to system performance. (P-010694) The TARP-IT system is an enabling technology for the US Army's logistics strategy to supply increased quantities of fresh food to field units vi