Electrified Aero-Engines – More Electric, Hybrid-Electric and Fully Electrified Architectures

Abstract

A hybrid electrified propulsion system architecture containing a high power battery pack as well as a conventional internal combustion engine and generator is investigated for a medical deployment eVTOL quadcopter concept rotorcraft. A conceptual powertrain integration study focusing on the analytical sizing, parametric CAD modeling, and evaluation of the propulsion system is carried out for varying hybridization factors. Preliminary analytical models are employed to size the battery pack and its thermal management system, with lower complexity power density regression models in order to estimate the weight of additional powertrain components. Parametric CAD models are constructed and coupled to the sizing models to design the rotorcraft fuselage and powertrain components, by means of a graph-based language design software. This approach enables an abstract representation of the design with geometry and behavior in a central model. Finally, an assessment of changes in vehicle mass, inertia, and drag due to different hybridization factors is carried out.