Model and energy management system for a parallel hybrid electric unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

In this paper is presented a complete Simulink model and a control strategy for the energy management of a parallel hybrid electric UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) powertrain. The model consists of an internal combustion engine, a gearbox (which includes a planetary gear and a continuously variable transmission), an electric motor, which can work also as a generator, an electric drive (Inveter) and a Li-Po battery pack. The control strategy propose a near real-time iterative algorithm based on Dynamic Programming to solve an optimization problem for the optimal power management and torque-split of the powertrain with final state constraints on state variable. Aim of the study is to investigate new flight capabilities that derives from the use of a hybrid architecture, like silent mode using only electric motor, useful for military and civil purpose, and the capacity of reducing fuel consumption. Simulation studies are based on data of an existing UAV and a real flight mission.