The plate-fin heat exchanger was designed for the liquid cooling thermal management system of the hybrid electric propulsion system for an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. The offset-strip fin design was applied, and the performance of the heat exchanger was evaluated, particularly with respect to the inclination of the airflow entering the heat exchanger. The estimated performance during the design phase matched well with the experimental results. The inclination of the heat exchanger had a minimal effect on thermal performance, with a slight increase in performance as the inclination increased. However, the pressure difference along the airflow was affected, likely increasing as the inclination increased. The sensitivity of various parameters on coolant temperature was also investigated. The air inlet temperature had a significant effect on coolant temperature, followed by the coolant flow rate. Therefore, when designing the thermal management system, careful consideration should be given to the ambient air temperature and coolant flow rate.

The 200 W electrically powered unmanned aerial vehicle, which is studied in this research, uses solar cells, a fuel cell and batteries as the main power source simultaneously. The output of each power source performs power control for each power source by the active power control method so that an adequate capacity of the battery could be maintained while limiting the maximum output of the fuel cell. The output variation for each power source under the active power control method was identified through an integrated ground test. In addition, the effect of limiting the maximum output of the fuel cell on the output variation of the entire system was experimentally identified, and it was confirmed that the adequate maximum output value of the fuel cell for preventing the overdischarge of six series-connected, small size batteries for fuel cell systems is 150 W.

200W class, low-speed, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that employs solar cells, a fuel cell, and a battery pack as its power sources is considered. This study applies an active power management method that directs each individual source to generate the appropriate power, depending on the power supply and demand, instead of the passive method in which the power sources irresponsibly generate power, depending on their characteristics. The power management system (PMS) under active management determines the power output from each source. The flight test of the UAV with a PMS onboard is conducted for 3.8 h. The active PMS verifies its own feasibility as it successfully keeps the power sources within their proper operational bounds and maintains a target state-of-charge of 45%, while responding to the various conditions associated with the power required. In addition, through a comparison of flight test results with a power simulation of the passive method, the usefulness, advantages, and disadvantages of an active power management method over a passive method are investigated.

The target mid-class UAV system used in this study consists of three types of power sources operating simultaneously. These power sources are designed and constructed to share the same operation voltage range and connect to the power bus without additional converters or controllers. The flight test of the target UAV system was conducted for 22.13 hours after the take-off at 20:53 on June 21, 2012. The power sources successfully supplied the propulsion power required during the test flight. In addition, the power simulation was conducted and validated against the flight test results proving that the dynamic behavior of each power source can be properly predicted.

The effects of CO2 dilution on NOx emissions and combustion instability are studied in an effort to use biogas as a fuel in dual lean premixed gas turbines. More specifically, the influence of the radiation heat transfer characteristics of CO2, which is a major component of biogas, on the combustion characteristics of a dual lean premixed flame of biogas is investigated. OH* chemiluminescence images are used to observe the flame structure for various CO2 dilution rates. The results show little difference in the flame structure for CO2 dilution rates of up to 40%, while higher dilution rates lower the flame intensity. Also, dual lean premixed flames show very different flame structures and temperatures depending on the pilot fuel mass fraction. The results show a decrease in the flame temperature when the dilution rate is increased, resulting in a reduction in the thermal NOx emissions. The present paper also shows that the radiation heat release, which is due to the high heat release rate of CO2, promotes a further drop in the flame temperature, in addition to the thermal effects of CO2. These findings are numerically modeled, empirically verified, and added to the NOx prediction model. CO2 dilution also changes the combustion oscillation frequency. To estimate this, the flame temperature is calculated as a function of the CO2 dilution rate and the pilot fuel mass ratio. The accuracy of the flame temperature calculation can be improved with a more accurate estimation of the radiation heat loss. In calculating the radiation heat loss for an unstable flame, considering the heat release fluctuation (i.e. the temperature fluctuation) improves accuracy, whereas taking the average temperature results in an underestimation. With an improved estimation of the temperature, the combustion oscillation frequency is more accurately predicted. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

There has been a rapid increase in the demand for biogas applications in recent years, and dry low NOx and dry low emission gas turbine combustors are promising platforms for such applications. Combustion instability is the most important drawback in dry low NOx gas turbine combustors and has, therefore, attracted considerable research interest lately. As a fundamental study towards the use of biogas in dry low NOx and dry low emission gas turbine combustors, this article investigates the influence of CO2 in surrogate biogas on combustion instability. Tests were conducted using a dry low NOx type, a dual lean premixed gas turbine combustor. For a dual flame with dual swirl, the pilot fuel mass fraction affects the flame structure, and the flame structure, in turn, determines the temperature distribution in the combustion chamber and the combustion instability. The effects of the pilot fuel mass fraction, which is an important parameter of the combustor, and the CO2 dilution rate, which is a major contributor of biogas combustion, on the combustion characteristics and instability are investigated through dynamic pressure signal and phase-resolved OH* images. Combustion instability decreases for higher CO2 dilution rates, whose effects depend on the pilot fuel mass fraction. The instability reaches its maximum at a pilot fuel mass fraction of 0.3. Tests confirm that combustion instability diminishes with CO2 dilution, as it reduces the perturbation in the heat emission, and the flame speed decreases resulting in a greater flame surface or volume. Further, investigation of the Rayleigh Index, which represents the coupling strength of the heat release fluctuation and the natural frequency, shows that CO2 dilution weakens the coupling strength, resulting in less combustion instability.

한국항공우주연구원 (이하 항우연)에서 개발중인 중형 전기동력 무인기 EAV2의 추진시스템에 대한 비행시험결과에 대하여 기술 하였다. EAV2는 날개 길이 6.9 m, 무게 18 kg의 저속 장기 체공형 무인기이다. 전기 동력원으로는 태양전지, 연료전지, 배터리의 세 가지를 동시에 사용한다. EAV2는 2012년 6월에 22시간 이상 체공 비행에 성공하였다. 시험 결과, 전기추진 시스템은 비행 중 일어나는 여러 상황에서 필요한 동력을 성공적으로 공급하였으며, 각 동력원들은 설계된 목적에 부합하게 작동되었다. This paper deals with the flight test of propulsion system of middle size electrically powered UAV (EAV2, Electric Aerial Vehicle 2) which is under development in KARI. EAV2 is low speed endurance type UAV whose wing span is 6.9 m, and weight is 18 kg. The UAV has flown for 22 hours in June of 2012. The flight test result showed that the propulsion system worked well suppling power for any circumstances during the test flight. Each power source worked according to the design purpose.

Power managements of a UAV’s hybrid electric propulsion systems are described. Three electric propulsion systems with different power sources, i.e. solar cells, fuel cells, and batteries are considered. Each power source is modeled in Matlab/Simulink and integrated into the power system. For fuel cells and batteries, the simulation process is verified via comparison between the simulation results and available flight test results of UAVs. Two types of power control logics are investigated: passive and active. The passive power management simulation shows that the behavior of each power source and its integrated system is adequate for the overall flight envelope. In addition, the active power management simulation demonstrates that active power management yields more efficient power distribution and better system safety than passive power management does. Also, a power simulation of a hybrid electric power system allows for estimation of the output behavior of the power source. Therefore, it can be a valuable tool for development of a power control logic that ensures efficient power distribution.

연구대상으로 삼은 중형 전기추진 무인기는 무게 18.5 kg, 날개 길이 6.4 m급의 저속 장기체공형으로 태양전지, 연료전지, 배터리를 전력원으로 사용한다. 이륙시간에 따라 태양전지의 에너지 총량이 달라지므로 체공을 최대화하기 위한 최적의 이륙시간을 선정해야 한다. 이를 위해 전압매칭을 통해 각 전력원을 선정하여 모델링을 수행하였으며 단품 성능시험을 통해 검증 후 시뮬레이션을 수행하였다. 이륙시간이 오전 6시, 오전 2시일 때 각각 최대 37.5시간, 최소 27.6시간동안 전력공급이 가능하였다. 배터리 SOC의 사용범위를 25~80%로 제한하도록 연료전지의 작동을 제어할 경우 각각 0.31시간, 0.63시간동안 더 전력공급이 가능하며 각 전력원은 최적 운전점에서 작동함을 확인하였다. The target system is a middle size UAV, which is a low-speed long-endurance UAV with a weight of 18 kg and wingspan of 6.4 m. Three electric power sources, i.e. solar cells, a fuel cell, and a battery, are considered. The optimal takeoff time is determined to maximize the endurance because the generated solar cell's energy is heavily dependent on it. Each power source is modeled in Matlab/Simulink, and the component models are verified with the component test data. The component models are integrated into a power system which is used for power simulations. When takeoff time is at 6 pm and 2 am, it can supply the power during 37.5 hrs and 27.6 hrs, respectively. In addition, the thermostat control simulation for fuel cell demonstrates that it yields more power supply and efficient power distribution.