CBL - Campus del Baix Llobregat

Projecte llegit

Títol: Estudi i disseny de planta motora incorporada en aeronau elèctrica per les operacions de terra

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: CASAS PIEDRAFITA, OSCAR

Departament: EEL

Títol: Estudi i disseny de planta motora incorporada en aeronau elèctrica per les operacions de terra

Data inici oferta: 07-02-2020     Data finalització oferta: 07-10-2020


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    GR ENG SIST AEROESP
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Paraules clau:
Sistemes elèctrics, motors, taxi elèctric, bateries, aviació general, aviació, eficiència, bathtub function, aviació de tercera generació, autonomia de vol, hub and spoke, point to point.
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
1. Introduction
Basic introduction, about this project. General explanation on how
aviation is moving towards a greener, more environmentally friendly
business. First electric aircraft beginning to appear
2. Motivation
Greener aviation probably means batteries already installed in
aircraft, therefore very easy and effective to install an electric
motor in the nose wheel to improve efficiency in ground by removing
the push-back truck and wasting energy during taxi.
3. Objectives:
Rather abstract objectives to be achieved by the end of this project
a. Theoretically Design an electric power plant capable of
moving an electric aircraft on ground for operations of pushback and
possibly taxi. Theoretically, the main motor will be installed in the
nose wheel.
Theoretical part of the project. Most of installation calculus will
be made in this topic. This will be a point treated in a real-ish
way, meaning that it will include parts that belong in a more
financial or human resources department.
b. Design and install a scale model of the power plant in a
scaled airplane.
The previous point will be brought to reality with a scale model that
will not be completely accurate but will be as similar as possible.

 
Overview (resum en anglès):

Although aviation is arguably the most efficient it has ever been, it is to blame for the 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In contrast to other sectors, switching to electric energy, is not a straightforward procedure. The energy density of batteries is only a fraction of that in fossil fuel, and weight plays a crucial role in aviation. This presents a challenge that the aviation industry is tackling in creative ways.

This project studies different topics the author considered to fit the scale of the project and of the available resources. And that would have the greatest impact on the industry from an environmental standpoint.

The first goal is to quantify the inefficiency of the aircraft in the European airspace. As seen in the project, there are two main sources of inefficiency, although, the root of said inefficiencies is the same: Operation of the aircraft outside their ideal efficiency area. This can happen either because an airplane has been modified to carry less passengers (pax) or because it is operating outside their efficient range. Both cases result in unnecessary fuel burn and should be avoided. The proposed solution is the implementation of aircraft better suited for those roles and routes in which present day aircraft are inefficient.

The second objective focuses on ground operation. Turbofan engines are very efficient during the cruise phase. This does, however, have an impact on their ground operation. For instance, the proportional generation of certain GHGs is considerably higher at this stage, acoustic pollution is produced, and the operative span of the engines gets shorter. Also, massive amounts of fuel burn during these phases. A solution in which some companies are working on is auxiliary taxi and pushback systems that keep the engines shut on ground.

The last objective is to study and explain the modification of simple aircraft (light, single engine), with a conventional, internal combustion powerplant to an electric one. The main issue with electric conversion in larger, commercial aircraft is the limited range. Range plays a crucial role in the commercial aviation industry because it determines which routes an airline make profit of. However, small aircraft are not as subject to range. In fact, many missions carried out by small aircraft such as surveillance of natural areas, pilot training, or touristic flights, do not need long range aircraft. Thus, given the low operational cost of an electric aircraft, small aircraft owners may consider converting theirs to an electric aircraft.

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