• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.21-29
• /
• 2021

As global environmental regulations have been strengthened, the eco-friendly market has grown rapidly. In the field of aircraft, research on electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft that can enter city centers and perform personal air transportation using electric propulsion is ongoing. For aircraft using electric propulsion methods to operate reliably, electric power thrust systems are a key factor. Electric aircraft require a high power density for propulsion systems with strict limits on volume and weight. The efficient control of inverter systems is essential for achieving high power density. Therefore, in this paper, the characteristics of inverters and motors were analyzed through simulations based on the space vector pulse width modulation (PWM) and discontinuous PWM methods for controlling inverter systems.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.391-403
• /
• 2013

Propeller aircraft propelled by an electric propulsion system is gaining a renewed interest because of ever-increasing environmental concern on harmful emissions emitted from conventional jet engines and national energy security. Traditional aircraft sizing methods are not readily applicable to electric propulsion aircraft that utilize a variety of alternative energy sources and power generation systems. This study showcases an electric propulsion aircraft sizing exercise based on a generalized, power based sizing method. A general aviation aircraft is propelled by an electric propulsion system that comprises of a propeller, a high temperature super conducting motor, a Proton Exchange Membrance(PEM) fuel cell system fuelled with hydrogen, and power conditioning equipment. In order to assess the impact of technology progression, aircraft sizing was conducted for two different sets of technology assumptions for electric components, and the results were compared with conventional baseline aircraft.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.42-51
• /
• 2022

An eVTOL aircraft, which is required to operate with low pollution/low noise in urban environments, mostly use battery-powered electric propulsion systems as power sources, not traditional propulsion systems such as reciprocating or turbine engines. Accordingly, certification preparation for the electric propulsion system and securing the safety of the electric propulsion system, are important issues. In the U.S., special technical standards equivalent to FAR Part 33 were issued to certify electric engines, and in Europe, various special conditions were established to certify electric propulsion systems. Thus, in Korea, the technical standards for the electric propulsion system for eVTOL aircraft must also be prepared in line with the U.S. and Europe. In this paper, SC E-19, the technical standard of the electric/hybrid propulsion system (EHPS) in special conditions, was analyzed. Additionally, securing the safety of the electric propulsion system of the aircraft are proposed, through the collaboration of SC E-19 technical standards with the existing aircraft safety evaluation procedure ARP 4761. Finally, through a case study of the Ehang 184 electric propulsion system, it has been confirmed that the proposed safety assurance method is applicable at the aircraft level.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.27-34
• /
• 2023

This paper presents the application of a magnetic gear to the electric propulsion system for an aircraft. Since high torque is required in aircraft electric propulsion systems, combining a speed reducer can amplify the torque. However, mechanical gears have issues, such as friction, vibration, and heat generation, which lead to maintenance challenges. In the case of a direct-drive motor that does not use mechanical gears, the size and weight of the motor increase to achieve high torque. This paper proposes the application of a magnetic gear to solve the maintenance issues of mechanical gears and the weight increase problem of direct-drive motors in aircraft electric propulsion systems. In this paper, a magnetic gear suitable for aircraft electric propulsion systems is designed, and it is compared with a direct-drive motor in terms of performance and the feasibility of applying the magnetic gear is verified.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.32-39
• /
• 2021

Electric propulsion aircraft are being actively researched in the aviation field in recent years to solve environmental and noise problems caused by existing gas turbine engine. In particular, research on a thrust motor as a core component of an electric power propulsion system and an inverter for driving it is actively being conducted. In this paper, a motor with high specific power is selected to determine characteristics of aircraft that are sensitive to weight and volume. Power loss of the inverter is then simulated. In the simulation, the selected motor and power device were modeled using PSIM, a power electronics analysis tool. Inverter power loss according to switching frequency was then analyzed.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.17-37
• /
• 2022

This paper discusses an improved unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, configuration characterized by telescopic booms to optimize the flight mechanics and fuel consumption of the aircraft at various loading/flight conditions.The starting point consists of a full-composite smaller UAV which was derived by a general aviation ultralight motorized aircraft ULM. The present design, named ToBoFlex, extends the two-booms configuration to a three tons aircraft. To adapt the design to needs relevant to different applications, new solutions were proposed in aerodynamic fields and materials and structural areas. Different structural solutions were reported. To optimize aircraft endurance, the innovative concept of Telescopic Tail Boom was considered along with two different tails architecture. A new structural configuration of the fuselage was proposed. Further consideration of hydrogen fuel cell electric propulsion is now being studied in collaboration between the Polytechnic of Turin and Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University which could be the starting point of future investigations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2011.11a
• /
• pp.544-547
• /
• 2011

This paper describes on hardware simulation of passive power control of propulsion system for electric propulsion aircraft of KARI. The propulsion system uses hybrid power system that is composed of solar cell, fuel cell and battery. The fuel cell is replaces by simulator due to its difficulty in handling while the other components are the same as that will be used on board. As the result, reliable power supply for propulsion is confirmed and each power source is well operated showing its characteristics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2011.04a
• /
• pp.183-186
• /
• 2011

In this paper, we present some results of power analyses, and weight estimation on electric propulsion systems for Personal Air Vehicles(PAV) applications. When hybrid electric propulsion is adopted, its power performance using fuel cells and batteries is inferior to that of internal combustion engines for 1,000 kg PAV. However, hybrid electric propulsion systems may replace IC engines when energy density and power density is over $0.75kW{\cdot}hr/kg$and 2.5 kW/kg, respectively.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
• /
• v.6 no.5
• /
• pp.427-442
• /
• 2019

Small satellites represent an emerging opportunity to realize a wide range of space missions at lower cost and faster delivery, compared to traditional spacecraft. However, small platforms, such as CubeSats, shall increase their actual capabilities. Miniaturized electric propulsion systems can provide the satellite with the key capability of moving in space. The level of readiness of miniaturized electric propulsion systems is low although many concepts have been developed. The present research intends to build a flexible test platform for the assessment of selected small propulsion systems in relevant environment at laboratory level. Main goal of the research is to analyze the mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and chemical interactions of propulsion systems with the modern CubeSat-technology and to assess the performance of the integrated platform. The test platform is a 6U CubeSat hosting electric propulsion systems, providing mechanical, electrical and data interfaces, able to handle a variety of electric propulsion systems, thanks to the ability to regulate and distribute electric power, to exchange data according to several protocols, and to provide different mechanical layouts. The test platform is ready to start the first verification campaign. The paper describes the detailed design of the platform and the main results of the AIV activities.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2020

Conventional electric motors are not suitable for aircraft because of their large size and weight. High-temperature superconducting (HTS) motors have high current density, high magnetic field density, and low loss, so they can significantly reduce the size and weight compared to general electric motors. This paper presents the conceptual design and analysis results of HTS motors for electric propulsion in future aircraft. A 2.5 MW HTS motor with a rotational speed of 7,200 RPM was designed and the specific power (kW/kg) was analyzed. The operating temperature of the field coil of the HTS motor is 20K in consideration of LH2 cooling. The stator winding were connected in a multi-phase configuration and Litz wires were used to minimize eddy current losses. As a result, it was confirmed that the specific power of the motor is about 18.67 kW/kg, which is much higher than that of the conventional electric motor.