N092-110 TITLE: Safe, High-Power Battery for Sonobuoys

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Sensors, Electronics

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-264; Advanced Extended Echo Ranging

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a safe, high-power, high-energy density battery for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) systems.

DESCRIPTION: As the likelihood of regional conflict increases, the US Navy must be prepared to detect quiet submarines in highly cluttered, shallow coastal waters. Such environments are noisy, making submarine detection very difficult. There is increasing interest in off-board distributed sensor systems, including sonobuoys, employed in multi-static configurations to maintain ASW capability in harsh environments. Greater sonar range capability and longer sonobuoy life would offer significant improvement in operational effectiveness. Increased range can be achieved with greater battery energy and power density. A battery that can deliver high power pulses (up to 10 seconds) for long periods of time would be beneficial.

In the past, the lithium/sulfur dioxide system has been used for this application, but there is safety issues associated with this system. When a module of cells is subjected to high current drains, the cell temperature rises considerably causing the venting of toxic fumes. The goal is to develop an electrochemistry and battery design that will be able to withstand high power pulses and not vent toxic gases. A solid cathode material is preferred, but other innovative solutions will be considered.

The battery must have a minimal life of five years and perform as well as the lithium/sulfur dioxide battery comprised of Saft LO43 cells. The battery must be capable of delivering at least twenty, 10-second pulses (10% duty cycle) at discharge levels of 5,500 watts, and have a minimum load voltage of 65V, preferably higher. The dimensions must be no greater than 4.75" outer diameter by 10" length and weigh no more than 8.6 kg., and it must be able to meet Navy environmental and safety requirements.

PHASE I: Develop, design, and prove feasibility of cell technology to meet program goals. Build and test modules consisting of the cells packaged in hard metal casings. Provide a detailed design and analysis showing the potential performance of the proposed full size device. Provide a detailed estimate of the cost of production units. (Assume 10,000 units per year.).

PHASE II: Fabricate and demonstrate three, prototype sonobuoy battery modules. Modules should be at least 1/3 the size of the sonobuoy battery. Update estimates of production costs. Delivery of at least one prototype module to Navy for testing and module specifications will be required.

PHASE III: Demonstrate production feasibility. Initiate commercial automated production of these new batteries at an affordable cost. Construct and test additional prototype devices for alternative applications. Transition technology to the fleet.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Several commercial industries could benefit from this battery technology. Demand comes from industry such as portable power-tools, toys, portable multi-media products, etc. Any product that utilizes a primary battery as a power source would benefit.

REFERENCES:
1. P.B. Keller, P.H. Smith, C.S. Winchester, S.D. James, and G.D. Zoski, "Sonobuoy Battery Development", Proceedings 37th Power Sources Conference, Cherry Hill, NJ, 17-20 June 1996, p.321.

2. C.S. Winchester, H. Dejarnette, P .B. Keller, D. Cubbison, M. Sink, S. Charlton, G. Zoski, J. Gottwald, C. Keuneke, "Development and Performance Demonstration of a Very-High Power Sonobuoy Power Source", Proceedings of the 40th Power Sources Conference, 10-13 June 2002, p.21.

KEYWORDS: Lithium; Battery; Sonobuoy; high-power, high-energy; solid-cathode

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