Abstract
The adoption of hybrid-electric aircraft is expected to have a considerable impact on airport operations, with the need of new infrastructural requirements to support electric-powered fleets. In particular, battery-charging requirements shall play a decisive role. Preliminary investigations useful to perform scenario studies for the future implementation of electric-powered aviation can take advantage of the ARES methodology presented here, which provides the optimal solution to the sizing of airport battery recharging infrastructures. Based on the flight schedule and on the specifications of the aircraft fleet and the charging equipment, the solution assesses the number and type of charging points, the related electrical consumption in terms of energy and power, and further information needed to guarantee the required operational level while minimizing the procurement and operating costs. The method allows considering and comparing two charging strategies: plug-in recharge and battery swapping. Energy price variation in time is also taken into account and a full description of the optimal time scheduling of recharging operations is provided. Application studies to the reconfiguration of two existing aerodromes, a General Aviation airport and a large regional hub, are discussed, showing the potential of the proposed approach.
Highlights
In recent years, the much-felt need to mitigate global climate change has been driving aeronautical institutions and stakeholders to formulate aspirational programmes, such as the Flightpath 2050 by ACARE (Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe) [1] and similar actions that have been announced by ICAO, IATA, and NASA [2,3,4]
In serial HE architectures, the second energy source is some kind of fuel processed by a Power Generation System (PGS) that typically consists either in a thermal engine coupled with an electric generator or a fuel cell module [7,8,9,10]
The second focuses on the the adaptation of a large regional hub, the Athens international airport, which currently hosts a massive traffic of turboprop flights
Summary
The much-felt need to mitigate global climate change has been driving aeronautical institutions and stakeholders to formulate aspirational programmes, such as the Flightpath 2050 by ACARE (Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe) [1] and similar actions that have been announced by ICAO, IATA, and NASA [2,3,4] To fulfil these long-term reduction emission goals, new electrically-powered aircraft propulsion systems are being investigated, according to multiple architectures [5,6]. In the frame of MAHEPA, a great deal of research is carried out in providing estimations on the scalability of the developed technologies for application to the upper end of FAR-23/CS-23, and even FAR-25/CS-25 aircraft This may lead regional air transportation to be the application scenario for HE propulsion after the current activities targeting the General Aviation (GA) segment. Market studies concerned with the estimation of the potential passenger demand for short-haul air transportation have been recently carried out, up to providing the definition of optimal route networks aimed at capturing at best future opportunities arising by the enhancement of citizen mobility [13,14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
