Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
PRELIMINARY SIZING METHOD FOR HYBRID-ELECTRIC POWERTRAIN/PROPULSION SYSTEMS OF eVTOL AIRCRAFTS
Submission Author:
Yan Silva , SP
Co-Authors:
Fernanda Barbosa Marques, Yan Silva
Presenter: Yan Silva
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-1435
Abstract
A new class of vehicles is emerging that could turn the dream of "flying cars" into reality. These are electric or hybrid aircraft that allow vertical take-off and landing that are proving to have the potential to revolutionize the future of freight and passenger transportation. Growing interest has brought out the urgency of implementing improvements in the still unresolved technological issues. Indeed, while the onboard technology is in an advanced state, the production and management of the energy required to operate the so called eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles), including power battery, remains a limiting factor. The paper proposes a preliminary sizing method of a hybrid electric powertrain/propulsion system of an eVTOL vehicle for application in the urban aerial mobility (UAM) market. The hybrid propulsion system consists of a combustion engine connected to an electric generator. The purpose of this system is to generate electrical energy to recharge the eVTOL batteries during the flight, thus increasing its range and endurance of operation. The proposed method results from the synergy of two different approaches. The first one is analytical and proposes a numerical model to estimate the energy values (such as power and specific consumption) required by the hybrid propulsion system to operate. The second one is experimental and offers a base of experimental data obtained with bench tests performed on the same system, to validate the results obtained by the numerical model. The iterative mathematical model uses as input data, the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of aerial vehicles, the electric motor, and combustion engine performance data obtained from the literature, and outputs an estimate of the required energy that the hybrid powertrain must provide for the aircraft to take off and accomplish the mission. This work is aimed at assessing the feasibility of the use of a hybrid powertrain applied to an eVTOL vehicle for the UAM market, seeking to contribute to the solution of issues that are affecting the "big players" of the aerospace industry and research around the world through a method of evaluation consisting of a numerical model fed by historical data and validated by experimental data.
Keywords
Hybrid-Electric Powertrain, Hybrid propulsion, EVTOL, UAM, extended range
