Conference Program

In this keynote presentation Frank Anton, executive vice president for eAircraft at Siemens Corporate Technology, will discuss new developments in hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aircraft.

The Aerospace Technology Institute has released a roadmap for aircraft electrical power systems. This presentation discusses the key needs and gaps, and shows a path to delivering the critical capabilities. The ATI research portfolio includes a number of challenging projects to develop capability for demonstrator aircraft and future concepts. Relevant project case studies are presented.

Aerospace is moving into a very special, bright era. The speaker will talk about this era from four perspectives: bright era – electrification perspective: proactively prepare a new roadmap based on the combination of HEP/MEA once the Brayton cycle limit is reached; bright era – additive manufacturing perspective: will change almost all aspects of the way the industry produces flight devices; bright era – WBG perspective: WBG devices, such as SiC/GaN, are a key enabler for electrification; bright era – digital perspective: includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous, Internet of Things, and so on.

The European Union Aeronautics research program is celebrating its 30-year anniversary. The presentation will review the EU-funded research activities relevant to electric and hybrid aviation. It will highlight the research funding opportunities within Horizon 2020, and outline the European Commission proposal for the next EU research framework program (Horizon Europe).

Electric flight opens up a new dimension in aviation and offers unprecedented opportunities for sustainable mobility in the future. A growing number of projects in research institutions and industry are investigating how electric – and thus emission-free and low-noise – aircraft concepts can be implemented, and which application scenarios are the most promising.

The presentation will introduce a serial hybrid-electric configuration as the future propulsion of aviation. It offers quiet operation around airports, two-engine reliability on a single propeller, and efficient use of energy with smart power management.

The Airlander 10 is a revolutionary new aircraft that combines the properties of an airship (buoyant lift), airplane (aerodynamic lift) and helicopter (vectored thrust) with a large upper surface, which makes it an ideal candidate for full electrification. The prototype Airlander 10 flew in the UK as a civil aircraft in 2016 and 2017 with fossil fuel engines. The production Airlander 10 will have the option of being fitted with electric propulsion and solar panels, enabling a 1,000kg payload to be carried for up to 60 days, or 60 passengers to be transported over 1,000km, with no fossil fuel burn.

The presentation discusses the challenging propulsion needs of electric drive systems applicable to electric and hybrid aircraft. Novel system architectures are considered and advantages quantified in line with the major components like electric rotating machines, motor controllers and speed reduction elements. Criteria for selection are presented, keeping in mind interfaces, cooling options, lubrication, power distribution, power quality, EMI and partial discharge events. Different levels of system and component integration are considered as a major driver to achieve the best power densities. Results from trade studies will be presented.

Axial flux motors offer an excellent torque-to-speed ratio, making them suitable for direct-drive operation. The presentation will explain the fundamental physical laws of axial flux machines and compare them with conventional motor typologies. A review of different types of axial flux motors (internal rotor, external rotor, multi-core machines) will follow, with an assessment of their suitability for electric and hybrid aircraft applications. To conclude, a summary of Phi-Power application examples will be presented.

Hybrid and electric propulsion is shaping the future of the aviation industry. In the race to bring the new propulsion concepts to global markets and provide safe, secure and sustainable mobility services, aerospace designers and engineers are looking to many different technologies to address the associated challenges. In particular, challenges in EMC and system integration represent uncharted waters in the new aviation era but are fundamental for providing business-critical capabilities such as autonomous flight, inflight connectivity, communication links and flight navigation.

Recent studies and forecasts suggest that to achieve a reduction in greenhouse emissions, the aeronautical industry must evolve into more efficient solutions based on electric technologies. Altran’s current strategy looks into hybrid and electric R&D projects. This paper is focused on the development of new solutions applied to an electric aircraft, under FAR CS-23 regulations, with 20kft cruise ceiling, two hours endurance plus 30 minutes contingency flight, and propulsive efficiency enhancements such as a state-of-the-art wingtip propulsive system and lifting body. Analytical calculations and CFD studies are presented for different configurations and geometries, changing the perspective on design methodologies.

Turbofan engines are designed for optimum performance in cruise conditions, with certain operational constraints in other flight scenarios due to thermodynamic coupling between low-pressure (LP) and high-pressure (HP) shafts. Considering that in the more-electric engines (MEE) the power is considered to be extracted by electrical machines that are mounted on both the HP and LP shafts, the study investigates the potential of further engine performance improvements by controlled electrical power transfer between the shafts, seeking for optimized operation depending on engine operating mode (EOM).