I-Corps Teams: Photonic Crystal Enabled Thermophotovoltaic Portable Power Generator

I-Corps Teams：光子晶体热光伏便携式发电机

• 批准号: 1821020
• 负责人: Roman Lubynsky
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2020-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1821020&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Teams; Photonic; Crystal; Enabled

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to enable a new portable power source with unprecedented energy density, which could have transformative effects on military and commercial portable/autonomous systems. For example, a portable power generator for soldiers using the proposed technology would result in a 50-75% weight reduction on a 72-hour mission, meaning soldiers could bring more water and ammo or reduce chance of injury due to weight. The proposed technology could also extend the operation of drones and other unmanned vehicles on land, air, and water. Currently these applications are almost exclusively powered by batteries, despite hydrocarbon fuel being 60 times more energy dense. The proposed technology could also be used in a number of commercial applications from emergency response and disaster relief, remote sensing, and energy access in emerging markets.This I-Corps project is a new approach to thermophotovoltaics, using a photonic crystal selective emitter, that enables practical fuel to electricity conversion in the 1-100 W range. The technology works by converting fuel to electricity using heat and light as intermediaries. Specifically, hydrocarbon combustion heats a photonic crystal emitter to incandescence, leading to thermal radiation which drives specialized photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. Currently, there is no effective power source for applications requiring 1-100 Watts of electricity for extended duration, a space where demand is burgeoning. This technology would enable ultraportable, reliable, and silent energy generation, particularly for applications that do not have access to conventional power sources.

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是实现一种具有前所未有的能量密度的新便携式电源，这可能对军事和商业便携式/自动驾驶系统产生革命性影响。例如，使用拟议技术的士兵使用便携式发电机将在72小时的任务中减轻50%-75%的重量，这意味着士兵可以带来更多的水和弹药，或者减少因体重受伤的机会。这项拟议的技术还可以扩大无人机和其他无人驾驶车辆在陆地、空中和水上的运营。目前，这些应用几乎完全由电池供电，尽管碳氢燃料的能量密度是后者的60倍。这项拟议的技术还可以用于许多商业应用，从应急响应和救灾、遥感到新兴市场的能源获取。i-Corps项目是一种新的热光电方法，使用光子晶体选择性发射器，使实际燃料到电力的转换在1-100 W范围内实现。这项技术的工作原理是利用热和光作为中介，将燃料转化为电能。具体地说，碳氢化合物燃烧将光子晶体发射器加热到白炽度，导致热辐射，从而驱动专门的光伏电池发电。目前，对于需要1-100瓦长时间电力的应用，还没有有效的电源，这是一个需求迅速增长的领域。这项技术将使超便携、可靠和无声的能源产生，特别是对于无法使用传统电源的应用。