DRIVING FUEL CHOICES


FIGURE 3


THE QUESTION OF CONVERSION


A comparison of various conversion devices—combustion engines, electric motors and fuel cells—looked at the actual performance of each power source versus its power output. Although electric motors have the highest level of performance, the authors found, they are connected to batteries that don’t have enough stored energy to last for military use. Specific power, or power-to-weight ratio, is a measure of engine performance in units of kilowatts (kW) per kilogram (kg). (Graphic by the authors)


CONCLUSION Te Army has a unique set of requirements that cannot currently be better satisfied with anything other than gas or diesel as the primary energy carrier. Consid- ering the high torque performance of diesel combustion engines, diesel fuel is clearly the optimal energy carrier for the Army’s ground vehicle platforms, from the perspective of both the total powertrain mass (energy carrier + conversion device), and stored energy volume.


Military applications provide common and unique challenges for energy storage systems and energy density, with regard to mass and volume, and are critical


104


challenges for commercial and military energy storage systems. Energy storage systems for military applications must be able to be stored and operate reliably at low and high temperatures (minus 46 to 88 Celsius) and under greater shock and vibration conditions than commer- cial systems. Cooling systems for military energy storage and export power solutions are complicated by the harsh environ- mental conditions they must withstand. Consequently, this combined scenario continues to drive the Army toward liquid fuels and their physical properties.


In the future, for the Army to consider a fleetwide, wholesale change that moves


away from hydro carbon fuels, it needs to develop a very detailed strategy and step-by-step paths to acquire any new technologies. Tis hasn’t happened yet because there are still too many obstacles that need to be resolved before alternative energy carriers can become a viable option for full-scale use. So for now, the Army still relies on carbon-based fuels, which will likely remain the primary fuel. It is unlikely, in terms of scale and scope, that the Army will transform to something else in the next 10 years. While alterna- tive power-generation exists now in many different forms, alternative fuels aren’t ready for prime time when it comes to large-scale Army use.


Army AL&T Magazine


Fall 2020


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