• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.13-16
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• 2007

Fuel cell was used as a propulsion system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the present study. Fuel cell propulsion system are an ideal alternative power source with high energy density for high-endurance UAV. Fuel cell power system provides UAV up to five times the energy densiη of existing batteries. Sodium borohydride, stored in liquid state, was selected as a hydrogen source. Hydrogen generation system consists of catalytic reactor, pump, fuel cartridge, and separator. Hybrid power management system (PMS) between fuel cell and lithium-polymer ba야ery was developed. Motor, pump, and fans， operated on battery power controlled by feedback signals of fuel cell system. Battery was recharged by surpuls powr of fuel cell.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.579-582
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• 2008

PEM Fuel cell system was designed and constructed to use as a power source of unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV) in the present study. Sodium borohydride was selected as a hydrogen source and was decomposed by catalytic hydrolysis reaction. Fuel cell system consists of a fuel cell stack, a hydrogen generation system(HGS), and power management system(PMS). HGS was composed of a catalytic reactor, micropump, fuel cartridge, and separator. Hybrid power system between lithium-polymer battery and fuel cell was developed. The fuel cell system was integrated and packaged into a blended wing-body UAV. Energy density of the total system was 1,000 $W{\cdot}hr/kg$ and high endurance more than 5 hours was accomplished in the ground tests.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2016

In the stratosphere, the air is stable and a photovoltaic (PV) system can produce more solar energy compared to in the atmosphere. If unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fly in the stratosphere, the flight stability and efficiency of the mission are improved. On the other hand, the weakened lift force of the UAV due to the rarefied atmosphere can require more power for lift according to the weight and/or wing area of the UAV. To solve this problem, it is necessary to minimize the weight of the aircraft and improve the performance of the power system. A regenerative fuel cell (RFC) consisting of a fuel cell (FC) and water electrolysis (WE) combined PV power system has been investigated as a good alterative because of its higher specific energy. The WE system produces hydrogen and oxygen, providing extra energy beyond the energy generated by the PV system in the daytime, and then saves the gases in tanks. The FC system supplies the required power to the UAV at night, so the additional fuel supply to the UAV is not needed anymore. The specific energy of RFC systems is higher than that of Li-ion battery systems, so they have less weight than batteries that supply the same energy to the UAV. In this paper, for a stratospheric long-endurance hybrid UAV based on an RFC system, three major design factors (UAV weight, wing area and performance of WE) affecting the ability of long-term flight were determined and a simulation-based feasibility study was performed. The effects of the three design factors were analyzed as the flight time increased, and acceptable values of the factors for long endurance were found. As a result, the long-endurance of the target UAV was possible when the values were under 350 kg, above 150 m² and under 80 kWh/kg H₂.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.87-90
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• 2007

Fuel cell power system was developed for high-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Liquid chemical hydride was selected as a fuel due to its high energy density. Liquid storage of the fuel is an ideal alternative solution of the existing compressed hydrogen storage. The fueling system that extracts hydrogen from chemical hydride consists of catalytic reactor, micro-pump, fuel cartridge, separator, and controller. The fuel cell power system including the fueling system and the fuel cell that generates electricity was integrated into a proposed UAV. The performance verification of the fuel cell power system was performed to use as a power plant of the UAV.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.405-418
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• 2014

Fuel cells are suitable for a power plant of a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as it is not only environmentally friendly and quiet but also more efficient than an internal combustion engine. A fuel cell hybrid UAV has better performance in endurance than a fuel cell only or battery only UAV. One of the key purposes of making fuel cell hybrid UAVs is having long endurance and now maximum 26 hours of flight is possible. Because optimal design and control methods for fuel cell hybrid UAVs are absolutely needed for their long endurance we have to check the methods. The aircraft made by using application-integrated design method has less BOP mass and better performances. The optimal design and control methods are generally based on computer simulations or Hardware-In-The-Loop simulations by using dynamic models for their design and control. The Hardware-In-The-Loop simulation (HILS) is to use a hardware device like a fuel cell stack as well as a simulation program and it allows for making optimally designed applications. This paper introduce efficient methods of design, control and evaluation for the fuel cell hybrid UAVs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.1031-1037
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• 2010

This paper proposed lightweight aluminum bipolar plates as an alternative for conventional graphite bipolar plates in fuel cell systems used as a power source for small reconnaissance UAVs. Since bipolar plates occupy more than 80% of the total weight of the fuel cell system, lightweight aluminum bipolar plates can improve the overall payload and flight time of the fuel cell UAV. The aluminum and graphite bipolar plates were fabricated to compare the performance of each of them. A 15% higher performance per weight was obtained from aluminum bipolar plates than the graphite bipolar plates. Also, the performance of a single cell using aluminum bipolar plates was evaluated under various operating conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.153-156
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• 2012

The optimization and integration of a fuel cell were performed to improve the performance and reliability of the fuel cell in this paper. To improve the performance of the PEMFC, current and voltage of the fuel cell were measured using an electrical load, and the results was compared and analyzed with the data of a commercial fuel cell. Based on the above results, a controller for a fuel cell UAV applications was designed, and the fuel cell control algorithm was developed to optimize the performance of the fuel cell UAV.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.56-65
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• 2024

Fuel cell powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are globally being developed for various application according to hydrogen roadmap. However, safety standards for hydrogen fuel cell for UAV have not been established. Therefore, in this study, we derive safety data based on risk assessment to develop safety standards for fuel cells for UAV. We use fault tree analysis method which is broadly used in hydrogen facilities as a risk assessment tool. We set hydrogen leaks and fires as top events and derived the basic events. Safety data for the basic events were derived by quoting overseas safety standards related to fuel cells. The safety data will be used for developing fuel cell inspection standard according to Act on Hydrogen Economy Promotion and Hydrogen Safety Management.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.300-309
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• 2012

Long endurance is a key issue in the application of unmanned aerial vehicles. This study presents feasibility test results when fuel cell system as an alternative to the conventional engine is applied for the power of the UAV after the 150W fuel cell system is developed and packaged to the 1/4 scale super cub airplane. Fuel cell system is operated by dead-end method in the anode part and periodically purged to remove the water droplet in flow field during the operation. Oxygen in the air is supplied to the stack by the two air blowers. And fuel cell stack is water cooled by cooling circuit to dissipate the heat generated during the fuel cell operation. Weight balance is considered to integrate the stack and balance of plant (BOP) in package layout. In flight performance test, we demonstrated 4 times standalone take-off and landing. In the laboratory test simulating the flight condition to quantify the energy flow, the system is analyzed in detail. Sankey diagram shows that electric efficiency of the fuel cell system is 39.2%, heat loss 50.1%, parasitic loss 8.96%, and unreacted purged gas 1.67%, respectively compared to the total hydrogen input energy. Feasibility test results show that fuel cell system is high efficient and appropriate for the power of UAV.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.631-640
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• 2016

A dual-mode power management for a hybrid-electric UAV with a cruise power of 200W is proposed and empirically verified. The subject vehicle is a low-speed long-endurance UAV powered by a solar cell, a fuel cell, and a battery pack, which operate in the same voltage bounds. These power sources of different operational characteristics can be managed in two different methods: passive management and active management. This study proposes a new power management system named PMS2, which employs a bypass circuit to control the individual power sources. The PMS2 normally operates in active mode, and the bypass circuit converts the system into passive mode when necessary. The output characteristics of the hybrid system with the PMS2 are investigated under simulated failures in the power sources and the conversion of the power management methods. The investigation also provides quantitative comparisons of efficiencies of the system under the two distinct power management modes. In the case of the solar cell, the efficiency difference between the active and the passive management is shown to be 0.34% when the SOC of the battery is between 25-65%. However, if the SOC is out of this given range, i.e. when the SOC is at 90%, using active management displays an improved efficiency of 6.9%. In the case of the fuel cell, the efficiency of 55% is shown for both active and passive managements, indicating negligible differences.