SBIR-STTR Award

Vaporcor has been developing an engine technology that enables a means to implement a Humphrey thermodynamic cycle. In this SBIR, we propose an innovative technical concept and an aggressive business development plan that will take advantage of Vaporcor’s unique engine technology and exploit Vaporcor’s existing strategic partnership for the development of a technology base that will enable very high altitude aircraft (VHALE) and will advance HALE platforms. In Phase I, we propose to not only to perform the expected feasibility study for a very high altitude (~90 kft) aircraft propulsion engine capable of meeting the stability, reliability, and environmental requirements suitable for use on an VHALE aircraft with 12-20 hour endurance that must be stored for months, we propose to build a prototype engine and perform feasibility demonstrations of this engine’s capability within the schedule of Phase I. If this engine proves acceptable to DARPA, in Phase II we will build a flight article of this engine in conjunction with our partnering VHALE company.

Keywords:
Vhale Propulsion, Efficient, Long Endurance, High Altitude, Trans Atmospheric, Low Cost.

Vaporcor LLC is developing a very high altitude (~90 kft) aircraft propulsion engine capable of meeting the stability, reliability, and environmental requirements suitable for use on a VHALE aircraft with 12-20 hour endurance that must be stored for months. Vaporcor’s VHALE engine implements a closed loop Rankine thermodynamic cycle using super-critical CO2 (S-CO2) as the working fluid. The Rankine cycle architecture allows outstanding overall thermal efficiency, while also allowing mission flexibility towards how heat is provided to the vehicle during various phases of a mission. Our “externally heated” approach not only provides outstanding vehicle adaptability, but enables a propulsion system that has performance that can be remarkably insensitive to flight altitude. Our use of super-critical CO2 as the working fluid allows exceptionally high power-to-weight ratios when combined with Vaporcor’s expander technology. CO2 is a non-reactive working fluid, which reduces the risk in system design and provides the potential for long storage and sustained operation. The potential for application on Vaporcor’s engine technology is vast and extends far beyond VHALE. Vaporcor continues to development other application for our engine that requires high efficiency, fuel adaptability, low emissions, quiet operations, and high reliability.

Keywords:
Propulsion, Engine, High-Altitude, Carbon Dioxide, Rankine, Closed-Loop