Aeromedical Care Advanced by Fuel-Cell-Powered System

  • Published
  • By Tom Brown
  • Propulsion
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Air Force Research Laboraty is doing its part to solve a serious problem faced by aeromedical evacuation and critical care air transport teams, whose members find themselves overburdened and entangled--literally--in their work environment. These emergency personnel regularly wrestle bulky avionic frequency converters used to power medical equipment aboard aircraft. The culprit units, while critical to the administration of onboard treatment, are nonetheless cumbersome and heavy (80 lbs) and pose a substantial electrical sparking and trip hazard due to their extensive cable assemblies. They also rely on aircraft power to operate. The engineered solution--the Portable Electronic Power Supply for Aeromedical Evacuation which is presently undergoing AFRL test and evaluation--leverages emergent fuel cell technology to eliminate undesirable physical issues and meanwhile provide electricity independent of aircraft power sources. 

PEPSAE embodies the promise of fuel cell technology towards fulfilling airborne critical care missions. A compact, high-power, zero-emissions system, PEPSAE provides continuous, long-duration power for individual patients throughout their transport from field hospital to aircraft to base facility--and does not depend on aircraft power to do so. Instead, the PEPSAE capability employs two key subsystems: one for producing power and the other for storing fuel. Power production occurs through a fuel cell system that uses N-Gen (a commercially produced air-cooled fuel cell power unit) as its built-in power source. This self-contained system provides 150 W continuous power, with 332 W peaks. Meanwhile, fuel storage occurs by means of three hydrogen storage canisters with the collective capacity to operate aeromedical equipment for 12 hours. These metal-hydride-constructed containers offer intuitive interfaces facilitating their fast, easy connection to the power unit via a quick-disconnect fitting. In terms of preliminary test activity, user preflight checks and operation, as well as 4 hr and 24 hr medical evacuation scenarios, have yielded successful results for the PEPSAE prototype.