MINIATURE ELECTRIC GENERATOR

A proposal is made to design an air-cooled 500 Watt thermoelectric generator for use the the USMC. This generator can have a low noise and IR signature. It can be operated either locally by a single switch operation or as a remote unit. The generator will be based on the use of a lead-telluride module currently under development for a larger generator application. Its external combustion source will be capable of operating the Diesel, gasoline, or any of the JP fuels. Since thermoelectrics are a solid state energy conversion device, the system reliability should be very high. It is proposed that some of the components being currently developed for a 1.5KW thermoelectric generator be used in the 500 W generator. The components include the bonded lead-telluride thermoelectric module, the micro-processor-based control system, and the air-aspirated fuel atomizer.