IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - 34

In military
applications,
depending on the
destination to which
fuel needs to be
carried and the way
it is carried (i.e., by
ground, air, ship,
etc.), the cost per
gallon of fuel can
be in the range
of US$1,000
in certain cases.

This article provides an overview of
activities related to advanced power
electronics and electric drives that have
been pursued within the U.S. Army
Research Development and Engineering
Command-Tank Automotive Research
Development and Engineering Center
(RDECOM-TARDEC), Ground Vehicle
Power and Mobility (GVPM) Department
over the past several years. These
include activities in the Hybrid Electric
Reconfigurable Moveable Integration
Test Bed (HERMIT) project, dc-dc converters, silicon carbide (SiC)-based
power electronics, and integrated starter
generators (ISGs), among others. The
activities indicated here were performed
through both in-house government
efforts and joint efforts with various
industrial partners and academia. It is
believed that this article will provide the
reader with an idea of U.S. Army efforts
in electrification, thus helping to compare and contrast them against similar
efforts in the commercial industry and highlight any
unique aspects specific to the military.

Important Differences Between commercial
and Military applications of Vehicles
From an applications viewpoint, there are few basic differences between regular commercial and military vehicles.
They are itemized as follows:
xx
The cost of fuel can be very high for military applications because the fuel often has to be carried to the
field of operation (Tiron, 2009). For security reasons, it
may be imperative to carry the fuel instead of depending on other sources. Even if fuel may sometimes be
available in a combat region, it is more than likely to
be in unknown and/or hostile regions; therefore, the
military cannot rely on the quality of fuel obtained
from such sources, which could potentially compromise the operation of the vehicle.
xx
In the military, it is common for vehicles to operate
in silent mode, when electric power is used by various loads (e.g., radio and computers) without running an engine-driven generator. Silent mode normally means that power is obtained from silent (i.e.,
inaudible) sources like a battery, an ultracapacitor,
fuel cells, or a flywheel. In certain situations, a
smaller generator that is relatively quiet compared
to the main vehicle engine is sometimes used to
obtain power.
xx
When a temporary military base is established in a
zone of operation, it can be very useful to quickly establish electrical power (both utility-level and other voltages) for various needs. In a zone of operation, besides

I E E E E l e c t r i f i cati o n M agaz ine / March 2016

military vehicles and armaments, the military must normally establish temporary living
and office-type facilities, which
need utility-level voltages due to
various stationary loads.
Although external generators
are used for the purpose nowadays, the advantageous use of
vehicular power systems can be
made through the formation of
a microgrid with vehicle-tovehicle (V2V) and vehicle-togrid (V2G) types of connectivity.
This can also provide redundancy and security, in terms of
availability of power. Another
advantage of having V2V and
V2G connectivity is that it can
reduce the need for external
generators and hence reduce
logistic burden which needs to
be carried to the field. This can
save additional reduction in fuel
cost for carrying items to the field.
xx
Military equipment is subjected to harsh environments, in terms of temperature and also noise
and vibration.
xx
Failure of equipment, unlike in most commercial
applications, can, in many situations, be the difference
between life and death. For example, if a vehicle fails
in a combat zone and cannot move due to a lack of
power, it will most likely come under enemy fire,
potentially resulting in loss of life.
All of these items are motivating factors toward the electrification of military ground vehicles. Enabling technologies like power electronics and electric drives can help
achieve these objectives, and more efficient and highly
durable devices can also contribute toward achieving them.

activities relevant to Military applications
The U.S. Army RDECOM-TARDEC GVPM Advanced Propulsion Team is located in Warren, Michigan, which is in
close proximity to some major automotive industry
facilities. This has allowed better interface and
exchange of information related to vehicular technology
between the military and the commercial automotive
industry. U.S. Army RDECOM-TARDEC activities include
various projects related to power and mobility, e.g.,
hybrid electric technologies and vehicle electrification.
In addition, as noted previously, the army also has a
need for HV, high-power electrical devices, which can be
for nonvehicular applications as well. All these applications involve power electronics, i.e., high-power solidstate switching devices/systems to process power from
one dc voltage to another using dc-dc converters, dc to

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016