HINETICS LLC — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: AFX20D-TCSO1
HINETICS LLC — STTR Phase I award from Department of Defense.
Phase I STTR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from Department of Defense in a technical approach.
- Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
- Obligated amount $149,890. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code AFX20D-TCSO1 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $149,890
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Air Force
- Program / Phase
- STTR · Phase I
- Topic
- AFX20D-TCSO1
- Solicitation
- X20.D
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- IL
- Period
- 2020-12-18 → 2021-06-18
Description
The power required during take-off in eVTOL aircraft can be 3-10X the average power during cruise. Thus, electric propulsors capable of meeting the peak power requirement on a continuous basis may not be ideal. We propose a commercial tool that can safely extract the transient capability of high-power electric powertrains to offer operational flexibility and increased payload. A model-based control scheme that keeps track of the state of the electrical components through the mission profile will be used to establish the actual capability of the system instead of a fixed steady state rating. Since the power rating of many of the devices are based on temperature limits which are themselves set by life projections, a high fidelity, multi-physics model, complemented with appropriate sensor data, will be used to project a safe operating region as a function of time and risk of failure. The current/torque limits of the powertrain ‘saturation’ blocks will be adjusted based on the state of the system, and mode selected. Three operating modes are envisioned: Regular mode – with traditional limits on current/power based on ratings. This is the current baseline. Enhanced mode – with current/power limits based on data from ‘digital twin’ that tracks complete state of the powertrain. Can be implemented with data from qualification tests of components. Emergency mode – relax limits further under emergency situations, consuming some life of hardware. Needs digital twin to also estimate of remaining useful life and/or risk of failure. This is future work needing a lot more data.