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USMA1982 list

USMA1982-FORUM list

The 2005 Baragona Award winners were Ran Du, Joshua Haller, Edward (Trey) Russell, and Jose Velasco for their work in designing a cooling system for the Interceptor body armor.

As part of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies Soldier Design Competition, Team Cold Steel, comprised of Cadets Ran Du, Josh Haller, José Velasco, and Edward (Trey) Russell and advised by Dr. A. Őzer Arnas, developed a system to cool soldiers wearing Interceptor body armor.  Many soldiers complain that high temperatures in Iraq and Afghanistan cause them to overheat and remove their vests, thus exposing them to enemy fire.

Initial research found cooling systems for pilots, astronauts, firefighters, and construction workers, however, these systems require a large external power source or are heavy and cumbersome.  Team Cold Steel’s goal was to make a lightweight, portable, and easy to use design.  Team members decided to integrate their cooling system into the existing CamelBak^® hydration system carried by all Soldiers today. 

The final design included a thermoelectric (TEC) module integrated with the CamelBak^® system to cool its water, a small but effective water pump to circulate the water out of and into the CamelBak^®, a heat exchanger worn on the body through which cool water from the CamelBak^® system circulates to conduct heat away from the Soldier, and an effective heat sink and fan to dissipate the heat generated by the TEC module. 

The final design, aptly named “The Cool Mule”, can provide up to 5 watts of cooling for up to 8 hours.  It weighs 3.25 pounds, can be integrated into the current CamelBak^® system in use by soldiers today, and is composed of off-the-shelf parts that are readily available.  The team added a switch to allow the system to not only cool the water in the reservoir but also to heat the water.  Team Cold Steel hopes that the Army will consider this design, research it further, and one day field it to all soldiers.

Pictures:  1.  Cadet Jose Velasco  2.  Cadet Trey Russell

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