Dynamic Flight Simulation of Spanwise Distributed Electric Propulsion for Directional Control Authority

Freeman, Jeffrey; Klunk, Garrett T.

doi:10.2514/6.2018-4997

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Aircraft with distributed propulsion may also employ differential thrust as a mean to reduce or eliminate the vertical tail and be still compliant with regulations, although aero-propulsive interactions and system robustness must be carefully investigated, while different safety criteria could be applied [68][69][70][71]. Moreover, effects on aircraft stability and control due to DP technologies must be carefully evaluated from the preliminary design stage to avoid potential disadvantages of such integration.…”

Section: Distributed Electric Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Enabling Technologies for a Quasi-Zero Emissions Commuter Aircraft

et al. 2022

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The desire for greener aircraft pushes both academic and industrial research into developing technologies, manufacturing, and operational strategies providing emissions abatement. At time of writing, there are no certified electric aircraft for passengers’ transport. This is due to the requirements of lightness, reliability, safety, comfort, and operational capability of the fast air transport, which are not completely met by the state-of-the-art technology. Recent studies have shown that new aero-propulsive technologies do not provide significant fuel burn reduction, unless the operational ranges are limited to short regional routes or the electric storage capability is unrealistically high, and that this little advantage comes at increased gross weight and operational costs. Therefore, a significant impact into aviation emissions reduction can only be obtained with a revolutionary design, which integrates disruptive technologies starting from the preliminary design phase. This paper reviews the recent advances in propulsions, aerodynamics, and structures to present the enabling technologies for a low emissions aircraft, with a focus on the commuter category. In fact, it is the opinion of the European Community, which has financed several projects, that advances on the small air transport will be a fundamental step to assess the results and pave the way for large greener airplanes.

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Section: Distributed Electric Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Enabling Technologies for a Quasi-Zero Emissions Commuter Aircraft

et al. 2022

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“…Past studies have presented propulsion-based control approaches for a single configuration of aircraft, but have not aimed to provide a theoretical insight into the creation of dynamics models for similarly outfitted DEP aircraft. In order to address this downfall, a flight-test based system identification approach is underway as part of a recent NASA-supported small business Technology Transfer program (STTR), which is currently being conducted between ESAero and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [58,59]. For this STTR study, a dynamics model is being developed for an aircraft with added DEP capabilities, as well as an experimental flight research vehicle based on an unmanned, 21 percent-scale Cirrus (Duluth, Minnesota) SR22T aircraft.…”

Section: Distributed Electric Propulsion Enabled Vehicle Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Distributed Electric Propulsion Concepts for Air Vehicle Technology

Kim

Perry

Ansell

2018

2018 AIAA/IEEE Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium

224

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The emergence of distributed electric propulsion (DEP) concepts for aircraft systems has enabled new capabilities in the overall efficiency, capabilities, and robustness of future air vehicles. Distributed electric propulsion systems feature the novel approach of utilizing electrically-driven propulsors which are only connected electrically to energy sources or power-generating devices. As a result, propulsors can be placed, sized, and operated with greater flexibility to leverage the synergistic benefits of aero-propulsive coupling and provide improved performance over more traditional designs. A number of conventional aircraft concepts that utilize distributed electric propulsion have been developed, along with various short and vertical takeoff and landing platforms. Careful integration of electrically-driven propulsors for boundary-layer ingestion can allow for improved propulsive efficiency and wake-filling benefits. The placement and configuration of propulsors can also be used to mitigate the trailing vortex system of a lifting surface or leverage increases in dynamic pressure across blown surfaces for increased lift performance. Additionally, the thrust stream of distributed electric propulsors can be utilized to enable new capabilities in vehicle control, including reducing requirements for traditional control surfaces and increasing tolerance of the vehicle control system to engine-out or propulsor-out scenarios. If one or more turboelectric generators and multiple electric fans are used, the increased effective bypass ratio of the whole propulsion system can also enable lower community noise during takeoff and landing segments of flight and higher propulsive efficiency at all conditions. Furthermore, the small propulsors of a DEP system can be installed to leverage an acoustic shielding effect by the airframe, which can further reduce noise signatures. The rapid growth in flight-weight electrical systems and power architectures has provided new enabling technologies for future DEP concepts, which provide flexible operational capabilities far beyond those of current systems. While a number of integration challenges exist, DEP is a disruptive concept that can lead to unprecedented improvements in future aircraft designs.

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“…Together with differential thrust, this gives extra control freedom which potentially improves flight performance, efficiency and robustness against actuator failures of aircraft [6]. The control aspect of DEP aircraft received limited attention in previous research, only modeling differential thrust [7,8] or designing a simple proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, without actively using the PAI effects [9]. Including the PAI effects poses a significant challenge, since this introduces nonlinear behavior and cross-couplings, which are difficult to model accurately [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incremental Nonlinear Control Allocation for an Aircraft with Distributed Electric Propulsion

Heer

Visser

Hoogendoorn³

et al. 2023

AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum

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In this paper, a new nonlinear control allocation method is presented for a distributed electric propulsion (DEP) aircraft. As the electric propellers can be used actively for control, in addition to the control surfaces, the DEP aircraft is over-actuated. This freedom in control effectors can be exploited with an appropriate control allocation method. All control effectors are, therefore, captured in the incremental nonlinear control allocation (INCA) method, which allows taking into account effector nonlinearities and interactions introduced by the propellers. The INCA method is based on a real-time updated Jacobian model of the control effectiveness, thereby solving an efficient linear control allocation problem. This paper reformulates the original INCA method to optimize the control allocation for minimal propeller power, resulting in more efficient flight. A model predictive control (MPC) controller is added as an actuator dynamics compensation method. This ensures that the commanded control inputs from the INCA controller are achieved. The new controller is compared to a standard incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI) controller with a translational and rotational loop. It is shown in simulation that by combining INCA with MPC, the tracking performance is improved and efficiency increased by 6.1%.

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Dynamic Flight Simulation of Spanwise Distributed Electric Propulsion for Directional Control Authority

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

The Enabling Technologies for a Quasi-Zero Emissions Commuter Aircraft

The Enabling Technologies for a Quasi-Zero Emissions Commuter Aircraft

A Review of Distributed Electric Propulsion Concepts for Air Vehicle Technology

Incremental Nonlinear Control Allocation for an Aircraft with Distributed Electric Propulsion

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