Research Summaries

Back Analysis of Alternative Electrolyzer Technologies to Support Next Generation UAV

Fiscal Year 2021
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department NPS Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Pollman, Anthony G
Sponsor Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Navy)
Summary Building on experience with the Ion Tiger Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the Naval Research Lab (NRL) is developing prototypes for the next generation, fuel-cell, UAV. A key requirement is for the fuel cell (aka: electrolyzer) to already be qualified for use by the Navy. A sequential system engineering approach will be used to link the desired capability with a UAV solution, and then decompose the UAV system into its sub-systems (or components) with the goal of determining fuel cell performance metrics that address the capability in light of any stakeholder constraints. Key metrics will be compared to data from existing, qualified equipment. Subsequent analysis will determine which existing fuel cell system could be used to realize the desired capability for the next generation UAV. Both physical and operational parameters will be used in this analysis. A comprehensive final report will make expert fuel cell sub-system selection recommendations based on the desired capability and the state-of-the-art. A major technical risk to this approach is that a qualified system, designed for a different task but capable of repurpose for the new application, may not address the need. In this case, recommendations for a suitable fuel cell sub-system will be made.
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Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal