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, Cees T1 - Cost Estimation Methods for Hybrid-Electric General Aviation Aircraft T2 - Asia Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology. APISAT 2019 Y1 - 2019 SP - 1 EP - 13 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Comparative assessment of parallel-hybrid-electric propulsion systems for four different aircraft T2 - AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum N2 - As battery technologies advance, electric propulsion concepts are on the edge of disrupting aviation markets. However, 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-, parallel-hybrid-, 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 towards either conventional or hybrid propulsion systems. General aviation aircraft, VTOL air taxis, transport aircraft, and UAVs are chosen as case studies. Typical missions for each class are considered, and the aircraft are analyzed regarding their take-off mass and primary energy consumption. For these case studies, a high-level approach is chosen, using an initial sizing methodology. Results indicate that hybrid-electric propulsion systems should be considered if the propulsion system is sized by short-duration power constraints (e.g. take-off, climb). However, if the propulsion system is sized by a continuous power requirement (e.g. cruise), hybrid-electric systems offer hardly any benefit. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-1502 N1 - AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, Driving aerospace solutions for global challenges, Orlando, 06. - 10. January 2020 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Götten, Falk A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Marino, Matthew A1 - Bil, Cees A1 - Havermann, Marc A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - A review of guidelines and best practices for subsonic aerodynamic simulations using RANS CFD T2 - Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology (APISAT), At Gold Coast, Australia, 04. - 06. Dezember 2019 Y1 - 2019 SN - 978-1-925627-40-4 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - de Vries, Reynard A1 - Vos, Roelof A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - A comparison of hybrid-electric aircraft sizing methods T2 - AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum N2 - The number of case studies focusing on hybrid-electric aircraft is steadily increasing, since these configurations are thought to lead to lower operating costs and environmental impact than traditional aircraft. However, due to the lack of reference data of actual hybrid-electric aircraft, in most cases, the design tools and results are difficult to validate. In this paper, two independently developed approaches for hybrid-electric conceptual aircraft design are compared. An existing 19-seat commuter aircraft is selected as the conventional baseline, and both design tools are used to size that aircraft. The aircraft is then re-sized under consideration of hybrid-electric propulsion technology. This is performed for parallel, serial, and fully-electric powertrain architectures. Finally, sensitivity studies are conducted to assess the validity of the basic assumptions and approaches regarding the design of hybrid-electric aircraft. Both methods are found to predict the maximum take-off mass (MTOM) of the reference aircraft with less than 4% error. The MTOM and payload-range energy efficiency of various (hybrid-) electric configurations are predicted with a maximum difference of approximately 2% and 5%, respectively. The results of this study confirm a correct formulation and implementation of the two design methods, and the data obtained can be used by researchers to benchmark and validate their design tools. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-1006 N1 - AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, Driving aerospace solutions for global challenges, Orlando, 06. - 10. January 2020 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Khalsa, R. A1 - Kreyer, Jörg A1 - Mayntz, Joscha A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Dahmann, Peter A1 - Esch, Thomas A1 - Kemper, Hans A1 - Schmitz, O. A1 - Bragard, Michael T1 - An approach to propulsion system modelling for the conceptual design of hybrid-electric general aviation aircraft T2 - Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2019, 30.9.-2.10.2019, Darmstadt N2 - In this paper, an approach to propulsion system modelling for hybrid-electric general aviation aircraft is presented. Because the focus is on general aviation aircraft, only combinations of electric motors and reciprocating combustion engines are explored. Gas turbine hybrids will not be considered. The level of the component's models is appropriate for the conceptual design stage. They are simple and adaptable, so that a wide range of designs with morphologically different propulsive system architectures can be quickly compared. Modelling strategies for both mass and efficiency of each part of the propulsion system (engine, motor, battery and propeller) will be presented. Y1 - 2019 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 - Finger, Felix A1 - Götten, Falk A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - Initial Sizing for a Family of Hybrid-Electric VTOL General Aviation Aircraft T2 - 67. Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2018 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 - 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 - Impact of Engine Failure Constraints on the Initial Sizing of Hybrid-Electric GA Aircraft T2 - AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-1812 N1 - AIAA Scitech Forum, 2019; San Diego; United States; 7 January 2019 through 11 January 2019 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix T1 - Senkrechtstarter: FH-Absolvent wird für Transportdrohne ausgezeichnet JF - campushunter: das etwas andere Karrieremagazin - Wintersemester 16/17 Y1 - 2016 SN - 2196-9426 IS - 17. Regionalausgabe Aachen SP - 116 EP - 117 PB - Campushunter Media CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Impact of electric propulsion technology and mission requirements on the performance of VTOL UAVs JF - CEAS Aeronautical Journal N2 - One of the engineering challenges in aviation is the design of transitioning vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Thrust-borne flight implies a higher mass fraction of the propulsion system, as well as much increased energy consumption in the take-off and landing phases. This mass increase is typically higher for aircraft with a separate lift propulsion system than for aircraft that use the cruise propulsion system to support a dedicated lift system. However, for a cost–benefit trade study, it is necessary to quantify the impact the VTOL requirement and propulsion configuration has on aircraft mass and size. For this reason, sizing studies are conducted. This paper explores the impact of considering a supplemental electric propulsion system for achieving hovering flight. Key variables in this study, apart from the lift system configuration, are the rotor disk loading and hover flight time, as well as the electrical systems technology level for both batteries and motors. Payload and endurance are typically used as the measures of merit for unmanned aircraft that carry electro-optical sensors, and therefore the analysis focuses on these particular parameters. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-018-0352-x SN - 1869-5582 print SN - 1869-5590 online VL - 10 IS - 3 SP - 843 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix T1 - Vergleichende Leistungs- und Nutzenbewertung von VTOL- und CTOL-UAVs JF - Luft- und Raumfahrt : informieren, vernetzen, fördern / Hrsg.: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt Y1 - 2017 SN - 0173-6264 VL - 38 IS - 1 SP - 44 EP - 47 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix T1 - Comparative Performance and Benefit Assessment of VTOL and CTOL UAVs T2 - Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress (DLRK) 2016, 13.-15.9.2016 Y1 - 2016 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - The Impact of Electric Propulsion on the Performance of VTOL UAVs T2 - Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2017, DLRK , München Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - A Review of Configuration Design for Distributed Propulsion Transitioning VTOL Aircraft T2 - Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology 2017, APISAT 2017, Seoul, Korea Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Bil, Cees T1 - Case studies in initial sizing for hybrid-electric general aviation aircraft T2 - 2018 AIAA/IEEE Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium, Cincinnati, Ohio Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-5005 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Finger, Felix A1 - Götten, Falk T1 - Neue Ansätze für die Entwicklung von unbemannten Fluggeräten JF - Ingenieurspiegel N2 - Wie sieht das unbemannte Flugzeug von Übermorgen aus? Dieser Frage stellen sich Forscher an der Fachhochschule Aachen. Die weltweit rasant fortschreitende Entwicklung des Marktes für unbemannte Fluggeräte (UAVs - „Unmanned Aerial Vehicles“) bietet großes Potenzial für Wachstum und Wertschöpfung. Unbemannte fliegende Systeme können – für bestimmte Anwendungsgebiete – wesentlich günstiger, kleiner und effizienter ausgelegt werden als bemannte Lösungen. Dabei sind sich viele Unternehmen über das mögliche Potential dieser Technologie noch gar nicht bewusst. Y1 - 2019 SN - 1868-5919 N1 - Project: UAV Design VL - 2019 IS - 1 SP - 67 EP - 68 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Götten, Falk A1 - Finger, Felix T1 - PhoenAIX – Die modulare Transportdrohne JF - Ingenieurspiegel N2 - Die autonome, unbemannte Luftfahrt ist einer der Schlüsselsektoren für die Zukunft der Luftfahrt. In diesem rasant wachsenden Bereich nehmen senkrecht startende und senkrecht landende Flugzeuge (Vertical Take-Off and Landing – VTOL) einen besonderen Platz ein. Ein VTOL-Flugzeug (manchmal auch „Transitionsfluggerät“ genannt) verbindet die Eigenschaft des Helikopters, überall starten und landen zu können, mit den Geschwindigkeits-, Reichweiten und Flugdauervorteilen des Starrflüglers. Grundsätzlich wird die Senkrechtstart- und -landefähigkeit sowohl von zivilen als auch von militärischen Betreibern unbemannter Fluggeräte (UAVs) gewünscht. Trotzdem bietet der Markt nur eine geringe Anzahl von VTOL-UAVs, da qualitativ hochwertige Entwürfe eine ausgesprochene Herausforderung in der Entwicklung darstellen. An der FH Aachen wird deshalb seit über 5 Jahren an der Auslegung und Analyse von solchen unbemannten VTOL Flugzeugen geforscht. Das neuste Projekt ist der Eigenentwurf einer großen, senkrechtstartenden Transportdrohne. Das „PhoenAIX“ getaufte Fluggerät wird von Falk Götten und Felix Finger im Rahmen einer EFRE-Förderung entwickelt. Y1 - 2020 SN - 1868-5919 N1 - Project: UAV Design VL - 2020 IS - 1 SP - 38 EP - 40 PB - Public Verlag CY - Bingen ER -