Grants / Department of Defense / Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command

W911NF-17-S-0003-SPECIALNOTICE-TPV-CELL: Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) Cell Array Assembly Research

Closed Closed June 11, 2021 Opportunity W911NF-17-S-0003-SPECIALNOTICE-TPV-CELL ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) (W911NF26S1000). Status: Closes April 9, 2027 (153 days left). It is in our archive of Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command notices from 2021.

• Award ceiling$350,000
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement, Grant, Other, Procurement Contract

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Reference Special Notice and BAA W911NF-17-S-0003

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Basic Scientific Research awards averaged $814,091; this notice allows up to $350,000 per award.
• Most of the program's money (81% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The aim of this Special Notice under the ARL BAA (W911NF‐17‐S‐0003), under Grants.gov Opportunity W911NF‐17‐S‐0003‐SPECIALNOTICE‐TPV-CELL, is to fund an entity to collaborate with ARL to research Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) Cell Array assembly concepts for use on the ARL experimental test stand to produce electric output. ARL has assembled TCAs in-house in the past, but seeks entities with other approaches, more experience, and better equipment to collaborate with on this research. ARL will collaborate with the awardee on an improved design. The awardee will assemble proof of principle TCAs using TPV cells provided by ARL. The TCA will be tested by ARL on the ARL experimental test stand. ARL will then feedback the test data and work with the awardee to further improve the design. It is envisioned a few iterations of this process will lead to an optimized design to determine the limits of the TCA on overall ARL experimental test stand efficiency. The primary components of the ARL experimental test stand include a BER, TPV cell array (TCA), and Cavity. The BER is made up of a cylindrical counter flow burner with a cylindrical emitter tube covering one end of the burner with a recuperator attached to the other end of the burner. One end of the emitter is closed off with a thermally insulating lid. The outer surface of the emitter is heated to ~1100 Celsius and the burner surfaces are also at high temperatures. The TCA is made up of TPV cells mounted on heat sinks that surround the outside of the emitter. The TPV cell array and heat sinks fits inside a tubular housing with a cooling fan mounted on one end. Air from the cooling fan flows in the direction of the axis of the tubular housing through the heat sinks. The Cavity is the space between the Emitter and the TPV Cells and the Cavity design involves the interaction of the emitter surface, TPV surface, and possibly special reflectors, endcaps, and/or non-imaging optical filters. The current ARL TCA design has 108 TPV cells with each cell measuring 0.87 cm x 0.85 cm. It also includes a -circuit board with score marks to allow the circuit board to bend to create a 9 facet 180 degree semicircle. This semicircle has 54 TPV cells attached using thermally conductive epoxy. Heat sink fins are epoxied to the backside of the circuit board (see Figure 2). The axial length of the area covered by TPV cells on each facet is 53.5 mm.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, W911NF26S1000, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.