HYBRID-ELECTRIC MOTIVE POWER SYSTEMS FOR COMMUTER TRANSPORT APPLICATIONS

摘要

This investigation surveyed the potential and established outcomes for future 19-passenger fixed-wing commuter transport aircraft concepts employing battery based Voltaic-Joule/Brayton motive power systems with no additional electrical energy drawn from generators mechanically coupled to thermal engines. The morphological approach was that of a tri-prop (two on-wing podded turbo-props and one aft-fuselage mounted electric motor configured as a pusher-on-pylon installation). A Battery System-level Gravimetric Specific Energy (referred to as “battery energy density”) of at least 500 Wh/kg yielded 39%, 25% and 10% block fuel reductions for 150 nm (Design Service Goal), 430 nm (85-percentile) and 700 nm (maximum range) stage lengths respectively. All quoted comparisons are against a suitably projected turbo-prop only year-2030 aircraft. In contrast to the reference Beech 1900D, block fuel reductions of up to 44-49% were predicted, which could facilitate a significantly lower deficit in relation to the ACARE Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 55% target for year 2030. This investigation also indicated that, in future, suitably flexible hybrid-electric architectures could be fashioned allowing possibility for the aircraft to complete any required city-pair operations (within the legitimate payload-range working capacity) irrespective of exchangeable batteries being available at a given station. Finally, it was also established assuming such a tri-prop morphology Normal Conducting Machines delivering maximum shaft power output of 1.1 MW would be required.