Multifunctional Structure-Battery Composites for Marine Applications

摘要

There is current interest in increasing the time-on-station endurance of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) through the use of hybrid power systems consisting of fuel cells for cruise-mode and batteries for the sprint-mode portions of a mission. Today, most electric-powered UUVs use large batteries that are contained within the hull. In moving to hybrid power systems, significant hull space can be freed up for additional fuel-oxidizer or payload by relocating the battery cells into the UUV skin and other structural components. In previous works, we have examined the use of multifunctional structure-power materials/components for increasing the available energy and/or decreasing weight in small-scale unmanned systems. The present work focuses on the integration of high-energy lithium- ion (polymer) battery cells into fiber- reinforced polymer composite materials for application to largerscale marine systems. The operational environment (i.e., seawater at depth) and large-scale structural and energy storage capacity requirements have posed new challenges in the multifunctional design process.