Silent Mercury Rankine Cycle Power System

A silent mercury Rankine cycle power system is under development at TRW for U. S. Army Mobility Command's Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Va. The 3 kw_e SCAP (Silent Compact Auxiliary Power) system is a power generator unit designed for various hydrocarbon fuels. The main advantages are portability and the inaudibility at 100 ft with a low ambient noise level.

The system consists of a mercury boiler, a high-speed mercury driven turboalternator pump unit, an aircooled mercury condenser, and necessary system controls. Since this system converts heat through a closed loop mercury Rankine cycle engine into useful electrical power, the design is adaptable to burning indigenous fuels. A complete 3 kw useful electrical output system burning hydrocarbon fuels will weigh 125 lb and have a fuel consumption of 6.35 lb/hr.