Modeling of Hybrid Electric UAV Propulsion System in Simulink

摘要

Due to a predicted fuel shortage, low energy conversion efficiency, environmental pollution and global competition, the need to develop energy alternatives for advanced propulsion systems now includes both the public and private sector. Among many approaches to improve energy conversion efficiency, one method is to use a hybrid electric (HE) drive train. Since 2003 the implementation of HE technology for automotive vehicles has been successfully pursued and this success has triggered research for its extension to aerial vehicles. The major components of a HE drive train for aerial vehicles include an IC engine, motor, controller, battery, power converter, and clutch. The engine is a very nonlinear component due to friction in the mechanism. The motor however can be treated as a linear element, even though its rotation also encounters friction. The lithium-based battery is normally treated as a linear component. The clutch is powered by an on-off electric switch which can be regarded as a nonlinear element. In this paper it is intended to model the engine, motor and battery in Simulink. To demonstrate the application of the models, preliminary simulation results are presented.