Feasibility Study on Application of Fuel Cells as an Alternative Power Source for Flight Line Ground Support Equipment

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a feasibility study to examine the operational and logistics feasibility of using Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells as an alternative power source for flight line aerospace ground equipment (AGE). The study compared a functionally equivalent fuel cell powered generator cart to the current configuration A/M32A-86D generator to determine if the fuel cell powered cart could compare favorably in the areas of power output, weight, size, reliability and maintainability, and life cycle cost. Several system design concepts were evaluated to determine which design concept best utilizes the fuel cell technology. The design concept presented is based on a variation of a modular DC bus architecture currently being developed by the U.S. Navy. Centralized reforming of hydrogen, hydrogen handling, and hydrogen safety issues are also presented as part of the design concept discussion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA378907

Entities

People

  • Earl L. Robertson
  • Jill A. Ritter
  • William T. Kilpatrick

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Cells
  • Composite Materials
  • Dielectric Gases
  • Energy Storage
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Fuel Cells
  • Generators
  • Ground Support
  • Ground Support Equipment
  • Internal Combustion Engines
  • Inverters
  • Life Cycle Costs
  • Maintenance
  • Maintenance Personnel
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Testing

Readers

  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Software Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Satellites