Range extension control system for electric airplane with multiple motors by optimization of thrust distribution considering propellers efficiency

Abstract

In the recent years, attention has been gathered in the research field of electric airplanes (EAs), which have electric motors as a power source. EAs have many advantages including low environmental impact and safety. The flight range per charge, however, is shorter than that of conventional airplanes. This paper proposes a range extention control system (RECS) which extends the flight range of EAs by control. It is shown that the power consumption can be minimized by optimizing thrust distribution on multiple propellers with different properties. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulations and experiments.

An Energy Efficiency Optimization Method for Fixed Pitch Propeller Electric Aircraft Propulsion Systems

“…As shown in equation 12, the power demand of the propulsion system during the cruise phase is related to its efficiency, the cruise velocity, the mass and the lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft. From equation 2 and equation 12, the energy consumed during the cruise phase E cr can be calculated as: (13) where t cr is the cruise time, η pcr is the efficiency of the propeller during the cruise phase. It can be concluded from equation 13 that for a given aircraft type, the lift-to-drag ratio and the cruise speed are constants.…”

“…K. Takahashi et al proposed a two-quadrant thrust control method for electric propulsion systems [12]. N. Konishi et al proposed a control system based on thrust distribution optimization [13]. P. J. Masson used High Power Density Superconducting Motor in electric aircraft's EPU, the weight of EPU had been reduced and system efficiency of EPU had been improved [14].…”

Lift control of electric airplanes by using propeller slipstream for safe landing

“…There are some studies [6] [7] on safety and efficiency control for EAs by utilizing these advantages and it is widely recognized that EAs will have multiple motors and propellers.…”