Session: 01-14 Thermal Management and Aero-engine Oil Systems II

Paper Number: 121232

121232 - Integrated Power and Thermal Management System for a Hybrid-Electric Aircraft: Integrated Modelling and Passive Cooling Analysis 

Aircraft electrification has introduced challenges in power and thermal management. In a hybrid-electric aircraft (HEA), the additional heat loads generated from the high-power electrical components in the propulsion system can negate the benefits of HEA. Consequently, an integrated energy management system is required for the HEA to reject the additional heat loads while minimizing energy consumption.

This paper presents the development of an integrated power and thermal management system (IPTMS) platform for HEA. The platform can assess the varying efficiencies of the components in the electrical propulsion system (EPS) (i.e., battery, motor, bus, and converter) and thermal management system (TMS) (i.e., fan and pump) during a flight mission, making it applicable to IPTMS modular designs and optimizations. The methods for modelling the components and a methodology for model integration are presented. To demonstrate the platform’s capabilities, a small/medium range (SMR) aircraft similar to ATR72 is studied. IPTMS architectures for a parallel HEA design are presented, including different cooling strategies such as air, liquid, and phase-change cooling. In this study, the EPS operates only at take-off and climb and provides supplementary propulsive power, which declines linearly from 924 kW to zero. Therefore, the platform assesses the heat and power loads of the IPTMS for a typical flight mission (take-off and climb) in this study. The capabilities of passive cooling, involving air natural convection and radiation, are analysed. It is found that after the mid-climb flight mission, the EPS components except for the motor can be cooled sufficiently by passive cooling mechanism without any need for active cooling. However, the battery temperature decreases to -15 ^oC at the end of the climb, indicating the need for active temperature control. Additionally, the performance of different cooling strategies is analysed by comparing each strategy's heat and power loads at system level, providing an insight for further research on IPTMS.

Presenting Author: Zeyu Ouyang Cranfield University

Presenting Author Biography: Zeyu Ouyang completed his BEng in Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University, Belfast in 2020. He then pursued an MSc in Thermal Power at Cranfield University. Zeyu is currently a PhD researcher at Cranfield University, focusing on the integrated power and thermal management system for hybrid-electric propulsion systems. His research aims to address the challenges in aircraft electrification and contribute to the development of more efficient and sustainable aviation technologies.

Authors:

Zeyu Ouyang Cranfield University
Theoklis Nikolaidis Cranfield University
Soheil Jafari Cranfield University