Scaling effects of 5- to 13-kw turboelectric unmanned aircraft power systems
Abstract
This thesis details ground tests of three different turboelectric systems for unmanned aircraft applications based on existing 5-kW, 7-kW and 13-kW turbine engines. The motivation for this study is the continuing emergence of hybrid gas-electric power systems for manned and unmanned aircraft to extend the range over battery-only aircraft and decrease carbon emissions associated with hydrocarbon fuels. However, there is currently a lack of published experimentalperformance data on turboelectric power systems, though there are many paper designs and analytical studies of aircraft turboelectric systems. This thesis compares the effect of scale inperformance parameters by comparing the three different turboelectric systems. A bench test stand with representative electrical loads was built and used for static ground testing of these turboelectric systems. Steady-state tests measured turboelectric system fuel usage and power production for calculating brake specific fuel consumption and power-to-weight ratio of the turboelectric systems. Transient tests measured response time and rate-of-change of power. Data from both steady state and transient tests highlight electrical safety challenges. A better understanding of the effects of scale on turboelectric system will allow for better performance estimates for design purposes, inform mission planning for unmanned aircraft, and enable future comparisons of turboelectric systems to piston-based hybrid gas-electric systems and battery-only systems for unmanned aircraft.
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