Similar to the efforts to move toward electric vehicles, much research has focused on the idea of a more electric aircraft (MEA). The motivations for this research are similar to that for vehicles and include goals to reduce emissions and decrease fuel consumption. In traditional aircraft, multiple systems may use one type or a combination of types of energy, including electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, and pneumatic energy. However, all energy types have different drawbacks, including the sacrifice of total engine efficiency in the process of harvesting a particular energy, as with hydraulic and pneumatic systems. The goal for future aircraft is to replace most of the major systems currently utilizing nonelectric power, such as environmental controls and engine start, with new electrical systems to improve a variety of aircraft characteristics, such as efficiency, emissions, reliability, and maintenance costs. This paper provides an in-depth look into how the systems have—or will be—changed. Future aircraft capabilities such as electric taxi and gas–electric propulsion for aircraft are also included for discussion. Most recent commercial transport aircrafts are described as the current state-of-the-art electric aircraft system. Future goals, including those of NASA, are presented for future advances in MEA.

More Electric Aircraft: Review, Challenges, and Opportunities for Commercial Transport Aircraft

Review of uncertainty-based multidisciplinary design optimization methods for aerospace vehicles

Data-driven operator inference for nonintrusive projection-based model reduction

Superconducting technology applications in electric machines have long been pursued due to their significant advantages of higher efficiency and power density over conventional technology. However, in spite of many successful technology demonstrations, commercial adoption has been slow, presumably because the threshold for value versus cost and technology risk has not yet been crossed. One likely path for disruptive superconducting technology in commercial products could be in applications where its advantages become key enablers for systems which are not practical with conventional technology. To help systems engineers assess the viability of such future solutions, we present a technology roadmap for superconducting machines. The timeline considered was ten years to attain a Technology Readiness Level of 6+, with systems demonstrated in a relevant environment. Future projections, by definition, are based on the judgment of specialists, and can be subjective. Attempts have been made to obtain input from a broad set of organizations for an inclusive opinion. This document was generated Superconductor Science and Technology Supercond. Sci. Technol. 30 (2017) 123002 (41pp) https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6668/aa833e Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. 0953-2048/17/123002+41$33.00 © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK 1 through a series of teleconferences and in-person meetings, including meetings at the 2015 IEEE PES General meeting in Denver, CO, the 2015 ECCE in Montreal, Canada, and a final workshop in April 2016 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign that brought together a broad group of technical experts spanning the industry, government and academia.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6668/aa833e/pdf

High power density superconducting rotating machines—development status and technology roadmap

Sustainability in the aviation industry calls for aircraft that are significantly quieter and more fuel efficient than today's fleet. Achieving this will require revolutionary new concepts, in particular, electric propulsion. Superconducting machines offer the only viable path to achieve the power densities needed in airborne applications. This paper outlines the main issues involved in using superconductors for aeropropulsion. We review our investigation of the feasibility of superconducting electric propulsion, which integrate for the first time, the multiple disciplines and areas of expertise needed to design electric aircraft. It is shown that superconductivity is clearly the enabling technology for the more efficient turbo-electric aircraft of the future.

Next Generation More-Electric Aircraft: A Potential Application for HTS Superconductors

The paper describes the development of a multidisciplinary design optimization framework for conceptual design of truss-braced wing configurations. This unconventional configuration requires specialized analysis tools supported by a modular and flexible framework to accommodate different configurations. While the previous framework developed at Virginia Tech was a monolithic Fortran-77 code, the need for more flexibility for complex truss-braced wing configurations was addressed by the development of this new framework, which is based on Phoenix Integration ModelCenterTM environment. The framework uses updated structural and aerodynamic design modules that enable a more general geometry definition. The new framework, thus, provides a foundation for future design concepts, especially multi-member truss-braced wing configurations. The fuel saving potential of these truss-braced wing configurations is presented by comparing different truss designs with gradually increased level of complexity.

Development of a framework for truss-braced wing conceptual MDO

Presented at the 43rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, Jan. 10-13, 2005.

Power Based Sizing Method for Aircraft Consuming Unconventional Energy

Development of Framework for Truss-Braced Wing Conceptual MDO

Internal combustion (IC) engines, which consume hydrocarbon fuels, have dominated the propulsion systems of air-vehicles during a century of aviation history. In the past decade, however, a combination of environmental, technological, and socio-economic changes have stimulated the search for new, alternative sources of power that could challenge the dominance of the IC engine. In particular, fuel cells are increasingly being considered as an alternate power source due to their potential advantages over the traditional power system. Nevertheless, traditional aircraft sizing methods currently employed in the conceptual design phase are not immediately applicable to such revolutionary power drive aircraft designs. Motivated by such deficiencies in state-of-the art sizing methods, a generalized aircraft sizing method has been developed as a solution to this challenge. A brief outline of the method and preliminary results from its application to an electric high altitude long endurance (HALE) configuration are provided in this paper.

Taewoo Nam

Papers

Next Generation More-Electric Aircraft: A Potential Application for HTS Superconductors

Development of a framework for truss-braced wing conceptual MDO

Power Based Sizing Method for Aircraft Consuming Unconventional Energy

Development of Framework for Truss-Braced Wing Conceptual MDO

A Generalized Aircraft Sizing Method and Application to Electric Aircraft