Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: Increasing electrification of the modern military ground vehicle fleet places ever-increas

Description

Increasing electrification of the modern military ground vehicle fleet places ever-increasing demand on each vehicle"s electric power generation and distribution systems. The quantity of instrumentation, computing, and electronic weaponry countermeasures systems is rapidly growing, as is their power consumption and need for high power quality. Fast-acting and accurate Silicon-based solid state protection devices have already replaced electromechanical circuit breakers and conventional relaying techniques in many applications. APEI, Inc. proposes to demonstrate that SiC can be used to displace current generation Silicon-based multi-channel power distribution units for military ground vehicle applications by: 1) increasing available current capacity, 2) reducing cooling requirements, 3) reducing volumetric and gravimetric power density, and 4) extending operable ambient temperature range. The Phase I effort will conclude with a demonstration of the APEI, Inc. prototype meeting all electrical program goals by the end of the Phase I effort via a hardware prototype demonstration. The Phase I Option effort will focus on development of the additional features, self-diagnostic capabilities, and an extended CAN communication suite. Additionally, testing of the 16 channel hardware prototype in a realistic temperature environment and with a variety of load transients will be performed during the Phase I Option effort.