The impact of propulsive architecture on the design of a 19-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft

Abstract

The electrification of aircraft is an on-going endeavor, currently examined intensively in the general aviation class. However, for the commuter class, the proper selection of the hybrid-electric propulsive architecture is instrumental, to fully exploit the electrification benefit. Within this work, a comparison of two 19-seater aircraft with different hybrid-electric propulsive components is made, using an in-house aircraft conceptual design tool. The first aircraft is based on a twin-turboprop parallel-hybrid configuration that cruises at low Mach number speeds and altitude. On the other hand, the second aircraft variant is based on a tri-fan series/parallel-hybrid configuration with an aft Boundary Layer Ingestion system that operates at both higher altitude and Mach numbers. A design space exploration is performed where different degrees of hybridization and batteries specific energy are considered, to define the technological requirements for each architecture. The evaluation of the propulsive architectures is based on block fuel reduction, overall mission duration, direct operating costs and total environmental impact. The results aim to quantify the benefits of each configuration and determine the one with the closest entry into service. Finally, it is observed that the overall environmental impact reduces by 26 % and 17 % for the turboprop and turbofan variants respectively.