A rule-based energy management strategy for hybrid powered eVTOL

Abstract

In recent years, as the levels of air pollution reach alarming degrees, new energy aerial vehicles like electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft have become the development trend of the future aviation industry. This paper presents a rule-based energy management strategy (EMS) for an eVTOL. The Hybrid Power System (HPS) is composed of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) as the main energy source and Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion) as auxiliary one. The onboard sources deliver power to the DC bus through two DC-DC converters. The main objective is to optimally split the power demand between the different sources while respecting their limits and extending their lifetimes. The adopted control strategy is based on State Machine Control (SMC). It is described as a set of rules based on some predefined conditions and thresholds over the control variables. It is chosen due to its simplicity of implementation, its reliability, and a low computation time. The relevance of this strategy is evaluated and implemented on a set of simulations for an eVTOL mission corresponding to a search and rescue flight. Results on power distribution, fuel cell dynamics, and battery parameters are analysed. They confirm the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.