{"id":13810,"date":"2020-11-07T00:20:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T07:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=13810"},"modified":"2020-11-07T00:23:14","modified_gmt":"2020-11-07T07:23:14","slug":"dlrs-novel-configurations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/dlrs-novel-configurations\/","title":{"rendered":"DLR’s Novel Configurations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum f\u00fcr Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) conducting research into the potential of new types of design have crafted novel configurations for future flight<\/a>.\u00a0 The DRL and BDLI (German Aerospace Industries Association or Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtindustrie)\u00a0 have published a white paper: \u201cZero Emission Aviation \u2013 Emissionsfreies Fliegen\u201d explicating these configurations.<\/p>\n

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FutPrInt 50 unique configurations<\/p><\/div>\n

Surprisingly, one of their major findings is that \u201cElectric flight enables lighter aircraft with smaller wings and distributed propulsion systems.\u201d\u00a0 Battery weight has caused MagniX and Ampaire to reduce the number of passengers or the cargo loads on conversions of existing airframes.\u00a0 To counter those issues, \u201cAn EU research project is investigating the potential for new propulsion systems and aircraft concepts.\u201d\u00a0 Obviously, these new concepts will need to take advantage of advanced materials to lower airframe weight.<\/p>\n

Hybrids and Hydrogen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thousands of airliners parked in dry desert locations highlight how the COVID crisis has affected air travel.\u00a0 Despite the ongoing interlude in travel, we should experience five percent per year growth in air traffic every year until 2030, according to forecasts reported in Horizon<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

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DLR study for 19-seat regional airliner with multiple propellers – similar to X-57 Maxwell concept.\u00a0 This would be hybrid, though, with turbine-driven generators<\/p><\/div>\n

Countering that rosy outlook, Horizon<\/em> reports, \u201cAs a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. airlines have cut capacity by more than 1.4 million seats, or 6 [percent] in the last week alone, according to OAG, an airline data company.\u201d\u00a0 At some point in the future, though, threats of being enclosed in a tube with contiguous and contagious fellow passengers will finally dissipate and people will fulfill their wanderlust.\u00a0 Then it will be up to aircraft designers and makers to prevent a return to the spread of something even more of an existential risk \u2013 air-borne pollution.<\/p>\n

The need to jumpstart the economy is great worldwide, but the necessity of reducing airline emissions is also great.\u00a0 Aviation, already responsible for two percent of global greenhouse emissions, will grow that share unless it can be brought into line with the\u00a0European Union\u2019s target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aviation contributes significantly to the European economy,\u00a0generating more than \u20ac500bn per year and supporting 9.3 million jobs<\/a>.\u00a0 To help maintain that benefit, hybrid-electric aircraft will probably be a short-term fix.<\/p>\n

Dr\u00a0Xavier Roboam<\/a>, a senior scientist and deputy director at the LAPLACE lab at the University of Toulouse in France, explains, \u201cBy hybridizing sources, you can reduce the fuel burn of aircraft and therefore the environmental impact. \u00a0It\u2019s the first step before the final step, which may be zero-emission, fully-electric aircraft.\u201d\u00a0 Since the best batteries are still only about three percent as energy dense as kerosene jet fuel, an engine\/generator and small fuel load can extend the range of electrically-propelled aircraft.<\/p>\n

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Light weight structure and hybrid propulsion systems can be contained in unique configurations<\/p><\/div>\n

Hybrid planes will also have to reduce enough weight over battery-powered aircraft to compensate for the fuel load and any additional battery weight.\u00a0 Dr. Roboam and associates, working with the HASTECS (Hybrid Aircraft; academic reSearch on Thermal and Electrical Components and Systems) project, are focused on systems that convert power between batteries, generators and electric motors.\u00a0 Roboam explains the group\u2019s goal: \u201cWe are trying to maximize the ratio between the power you are able to deliver and the weight that is necessary to deliver that power.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team aims to \u201cdesign an electric motor that would double the power-to-weight ratio of electric motors used today, such as in a Tesla electric car, to achieve 10 kilowatts per kilogram by 2035. They also want to increase the power-to-weight ratio of power converters to 25 kilowatts per kilogram by the same period.\u201d This could lead to lighter aircraft burning up to 10 percent less fuel.<\/p>\n

The team claims to have met their goal for the electric motors, optimizing their structure by using electromagnetic materials, for example, and special Litz wires (a special type of multistrand wire or cable used in electronics to carry alternating current (AC) at radio frequencies) to help improve performance.\u00a0\u00a0 Smaller motors heat up more, so the team also came up with a more efficient way to cool them using an internal cooling system.\u00a0 Their power conversion system met similar goals, \u201c\u2026beyond the target which is very successful for the project.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Roboam thinks a hybrid aircraft using their concepts could fly in five to 15 years.<\/p>\n