NANOSONIC INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF182-005

Description

NanoSonic is a small advanced materials company currently funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to commercialize H2 dispensing hose for their Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program. The funding for this work is to develop a cryogenically flexible hose suitable for H70 delivery service (700 bar) that can survive > 52,000 fill cycles representing a 2-year service life. The current competing hose typically fails within a week due to metal reinforcement along the core. NanoSonic has recently demonstrated hydrostatic burst strengths >33,000 psi making it suitable for current service at nearly 600 bar. There is a significant emerging commercial sector for H35 (350 bar) H2 fork lift hoses that our materials currently qualify for. Theses hoses have also survived ~ 52,000 high pressure (12,000 psi) impulse cycles (50,000 at -40ºC and 1,988 at 85ºC), where failure was due to fitting slippage rather than hose failure. NanoSonic has teamed with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to identify immediate dual-use spaceplane cyrotanks and aircraft hoses that our H35 hoses may be used for where improvements in reliability and performance are needed, which result in a significant total cost of ownership reduction due to their longevity in the field.