MAKAI OCEAN ENGINEERING INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A19-077

Description

Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. will address the overloaded AMPV cooling system with its TFHXTM technology which will provide at least 5%, and potentially 10%, performance improvement with minimal increase in pressure drop.  The heat exchanger pack will also meet durability and reliability requirements for military operating environments.  Additional focus on durability and reliability is required to validate the selection of materials and manufacturing methods and reduce risk for commercialization. Stainless steel foil is the proposed material for the heat exchanger plates as it is strong, and has excellent corrosion resistance. Makai’s Phase I work showed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with improved air-convection coefficients. Combined with surface area densities of 1200 m2/m3, this results in more than 5% improvement in volumetric performance compared to the specifications provided in the solicitation, while fitting into the dimensions provided. In addition, prototype AMPV TFHXTM plates have been pressure tested to over 235 psi at Makai’s facility in Hawaii, making this a relatively low-risk development and shortening the transition timeline for the Army. In the Phase II, Makai will build and performance test several 1:20-scale AMPV heat exchangers, in addition to build and pressure test a full-scale AMPV TFHXTM to prove the effectiveness for the Army’s fleet of surface vehicles. The Phase II effort will bring the AMPV TFHXTM from a TRL 4 to a TRL 6.