TY - JOUR A1 - Götten, Falk A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Havermann, Marc A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Gomez, Francisco A1 - Bill, C. T1 - On the flight performance impact of landing gear drag reduction methods for unmanned air vehicles JF - Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2018 N2 - The flight performance impact of three different landing gear configurations on a small, fixed-wing UAV is analyzed with a combination of RANS CFD calculations and an incremental flight performance algorithm. A standard fixed landing gear configuration is taken as a baseline, while the influence of retracting the landing gear or applying streamlined fairings is investigated. A retraction leads to a significant parasite drag reduction, while also fairings promise large savings. The increase in lift-to-drag ratio is reduced at high lift coefficients due to the influence of induced drag. All configurations are tested on three different design missions with an incremental flight performance algorithm. A trade-off study is performed using the retracted or faired landing gear's weight increase as a variable. The analysis reveals only small mission performance gains as the aerodynamic improvements are negated by weight penalties. A new workflow for decision-making is presented that allows to estimate if a change in landing gear configuration is beneficial for a small UAV. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.25967/480058 PB - DGLR CY - Bonn ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - An Initial Sizing Methodology for Hybrid-Electric Light Aircraft T2 - AIAA AVIATION Forum 2018 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, June 25 - 29, 2018 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-4229 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ludowicy, Jonas A1 - Rings, René A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Impact of Propulsion Technology Levels on the Sizing and Energy Consumption for Serial HybridElectric General Aviation Aircraft T2 - Asia Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology. APISAT 2019 Y1 - 2019 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Götten, Falk A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Mass, primary energy, and cost: the impact of optimization objectives on the initial sizing of hybrid-electric general aviation aircraft JF - CEAS Aeronautical Journal N2 - For short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft, a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system potentially offers superior performance compared to a conventional propulsion system, because the short-take-off power requirement is much higher than the cruise power requirement. This power-matching problem can be solved with a balanced hybrid propulsion system. However, there is a trade-off between wing loading, power loading, the level of hybridization, as well as range and take-off distance. An optimization method can vary design variables in such a way that a minimum of a particular objective is attained. In this paper, a comparison between the optimization results for minimum mass, minimum consumed primary energy, and minimum cost is conducted. A new initial sizing algorithm for general aviation aircraft with hybrid-electric propulsion systems is applied. This initial sizing methodology covers point performance, mission performance analysis, the weight estimation process, and cost estimation. The methodology is applied to the design of a STOL general aviation aircraft, intended for on-demand air mobility operations. The aircraft is sized to carry eight passengers over a distance of 500 km, while able to take off and land from short airstrips. Results indicate that parallel hybrid-electric propulsion systems must be considered for future STOL aircraft. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-020-00449-8 SN - 1869-5590 N1 - Corresponding author: Felix Finger VL - 2020 IS - 11 SP - 713 EP - 730 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Impact of Battery Performance on the Initial Sizing of Hybrid-Electric General Aviation Aircraft JF - Journal of Aerospace Engineering N2 - Studies suggest that hybrid-electric aircraft have the potential to generate fewer emissions and be inherently quieter when compared to conventional aircraft. By operating combustion engines together with an electric propulsion system, synergistic benefits can be obtained. However, the performance of hybrid-electric aircraft is still constrained by a battery’s energy density and discharge rate. In this paper, the influence of battery performance on the gross mass for a four-seat general aviation aircraft with a hybrid-electric propulsion system is analyzed. For this design study, a high-level approach is chosen, using an innovative initial sizing methodology to determine the minimum required aircraft mass for a specific set of requirements and constraints. Only the peak-load shaving operational strategy is analyzed. Both parallel- and serial-hybrid propulsion configurations are considered for two different missions. The specific energy of the battery pack is varied from 200 to 1,000 W⋅h/kg, while the discharge time, and thus the normalized discharge rating (C-rating), is varied between 30 min (2C discharge rate) and 2 min (30C discharge rate). With the peak-load shaving operating strategy, it is desirable for hybrid-electric aircraft to use a light, low capacity battery system to boost performance. For this case, the battery’s specific power rating proved to be of much higher importance than for full electric designs, which have high capacity batteries. Discharge ratings of 20C allow a significant take-off mass reduction aircraft. The design point moves to higher wing loadings and higher levels of hybridization if batteries with advanced technology are used. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0001113 SN - 1943-5525 VL - 33 IS - 3 PB - ASCE CY - Reston, Va. ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Götten, Falk A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, C. T1 - On Aircraft Design Under the Consideration of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems T2 - APISAT 2018: The Proceedings of the 2018 Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology (APISAT 2018) N2 - A hybrid-electric propulsion system combines the advantages of fuel-based systems and battery powered systems and offers new design freedom. To take full advantage of this technology, aircraft designers must be aware of its key differences, compared to conventional, carbon-fuel based, propulsion systems. This paper gives an overview of the challenges and potential benefits associated with the design of aircraft that use hybrid-electric propulsion systems. It offers an introduction of the most popular hybrid-electric propulsion architectures and critically assess them against the conventional and fully electric propulsion configurations. The effects on operational aspects and design aspects are covered. Special consideration is given to the application of hybrid-electric propulsion technology to both unmanned and vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The authors conclude that electric propulsion technology has the potential to revolutionize aircraft design. However, new and innovative methods must be researched, to realize the full benefit of the technology. KW - Hybrid-electric aircraft KW - Aircraft design KW - Design rules KW - Green aircraft Y1 - 2019 SN - 978-981-13-3305-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3305-7_99 N1 - APISAT 2018 - Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology. 16-18 October 2018. Chengdu, China. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering (LNEE, volume 459) SP - 1261 EP - 1272 PB - Springer CY - Singapore ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Comparative assessment of parallel-hybrid-electric propulsion systems for four different aircraft JF - Journal of Aircraft N2 - Until electric energy storage systems are ready to allow fully electric aircraft, the combination of combustion engine and electric motor as a hybrid-electric propulsion system seems to be a promising intermediate solution. Consequently, the design space for future aircraft is expanded considerably, as serial hybrid-electric, parallel hybrid-electric, fully electric, and conventional propulsion systems must all be considered. While the best propulsion system depends on a multitude of requirements and considerations, trends can be observed for certain types of aircraft and certain types of missions. This Paper provides insight into some factors that drive a new design toward either conventional or hybrid propulsion systems. General aviation aircraft, regional transport aircraft vertical takeoff and landing air taxis, and unmanned aerial vehicles are chosen as case studies. Typical missions for each class are considered, and the aircraft are analyzed regarding their takeoff mass and primary energy consumption. For these case studies, a high-level approach is chosen, using an initial sizing methodology. Only parallel-hybrid-electric powertrains are taken into account. Aeropropulsive interaction effects are neglected. Results indicate that hybrid-electric propulsion systems should be considered if the propulsion system is sized by short-duration power constraints. However, if the propulsion system is sized by a continuous power requirement, hybrid-electric systems offer hardly any benefit. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C035897 SN - 1533-3868 VL - 57 IS - 5 PB - AIAA CY - Reston, Va. ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ludowicy, Jonas A1 - Rings, René A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - Sizing Studies of Light Aircraft with Serial Hybrid Propulsion Systems T2 - Luft- und Raumfahrt - Digitalisierung und Vernetzung : Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2018. 4. - 6. September 2018 - Friedrichshafen Y1 - 2018 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ludowicy, Jonas A1 - Rings, René A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - Sizing Studies of Light Aircraft with Parallel Hybrid Propulsion Systems T2 - Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2018 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.25967/480227 ER -