Thermoelectric waste heat recovery from an M1 Abrams tank

Abstract

The addition of advanced sensors, targeting systems and electronic countermeasures to military vehicles has created a strategic need for additional electric power. By incorporating a thermoelectric (TE) waste heat recovery system to convert available exhaust heat to electricity, increased electric power needs can be met without reducing the energy efficiency of the vehicle. This approach allows existing vehicles to be upgraded without requiring a complete re-design of the engine and powertrain to support the integration of advanced electronic sensors and systems that keep the performance at the state of the art level. RTI has partnered with General Dynamics Land Systems and Creare, Inc. under an Army Research Lab program to develop a thermoelectric exhaust waste heat recovery system for the M1 Abrams tank. We have designed a reduced-scale system that was retrofitted to the tank and generated 80W of electric power on the vehicle operating on a test track by capturing a portion of the exhaust heat from the Honeywell/Lycoming AGT-1500 gas turbine engine.