Abstract
Electric propulsion (EP) systems offer considerably more degrees of freedom (DOFs) within the design process of aircraft compared to conventional aircraft engines. This requires large, computationally expensive design space explorations (DSE) with coupled models of the single components to incorporate interdependencies during optimization. The purpose of this paper is to exemplarily study these interdependencies of system key performance parameters (KPIs), e.g., system mass and efficiency, for a varying DC link voltage level of the power transmission system considering the example of the propulsion system of the CENTRELINE project, including an electric motor, a DC/AC inverter, and the DC power transmission cables. Each component is described by a physically derived, analytical model linking specific subdomains, e.g., electromagnetics, structural mechanics and thermal analysis, which are used for a coupled system model. This approach strongly enhances model accuracy and simultaneously keeps the computational effort at a low level. The results of the DSE reveal that the system KPIs improve for higher DC link voltage despite slightly inferior performance of motor and inverter as the mass of the DC power transmission cable has a major share for a an aircraft of the size as in the CENTRELINE project. Modeling of further components and implementation of optimization strategies will be part of future work.
Highlights
While noise levels have been reduced drastically, absolute emissions from aviation, especially carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NOx ), have been continuously on the rise throughout the last decades, accounting for 2–3% of global greenhouse gas emissions
This study aimed to investigate the influence of a change in DC link voltage level of component as well as system key performance indicators (KPI), especially mass and efficiency
The Pareto fronts for each voltage level with respect to minimum mass and maximum efficiency are depicted as line plots
Summary
While noise levels have been reduced drastically, absolute emissions from aviation, especially carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NOx ), have been continuously on the rise throughout the last decades, accounting for 2–3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The large improvements in fuel efficiency are thwarted by the steady increase in passenger numbers [1,2]. Group (ATAG) [2] and the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 [7] set aggressive target levels for greenhouse gas emissions in the future—up to 75% less fuel burn and 90% NOx emissions by 2050. To reach those ambitious objectives, a significant improvement in terms of fuel consumption is necessary. Aerospace 2019, 6, 126 propulsion systems [8], resulting in a large increase in interest on partly or fully electrified aircraft [9,10]. Three types of EP for aircraft can be distinguished by their level of hybridization [9]
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