The Use Of Electric Batteries For Civil Aircraft Applications

The Use of Electric Batteries for Civil Aircraft Applications is a comprehensive and focused collection of SAE International technical papers, covering both the past and the present of the efforts to develop batteries that can be specifically installed in commercial aircraft. Recently, major commercial aircraft manufacturers started investigating the possibility of using Li-Ion batteries at roughly the same time that the military launched their first applications. As industry events unfolded, the FAA and committees from RTCA and SAE continued efforts to create meaningful standards for the design, testing, and certification of Li-Ion battery systems for commercial aviation. The first document issued was RTCA DO-311 on Mar. 13, 2008. As the industry continues to develop concepts and designs for the safe utilization of the new Li-Ion battery systems, many are already working on designs for all-electric aircraft, and small two-seat training aircraft are currently flying. The challenges for an all-electric, transport category aircraft will be significant, and the battery design ranks as one of the greatest. The more energy that is packaged into a small area to provide for the propulsion requirements, the more stringent are the design parameters and mitigation methodologies needed to make the system safe. The success or failure of this endeavor lies squarely on the shoulders of the engineers and scientists developing these new systems, and places additional pressure on the regulatory agencies to acquire the relevant knowledge for the creation of minimum operational performance standards for them. Edited by Michael Waller, an industry veteran, The Use of Electric Batteries for Civil Aircraft Applications, is a must-read for those interested in the new power generation making its way into commercial aircraft.

Larger airframes drove the development of electrical systems, capable of quickly and reliably starting the new higher power engines. These soon gave rise to the need for engine-mounted electrical generators as the primary source of in-flight power for the electrical loads and onboard recharging of the aircraft battery system. Of all the backup power sources, batteries represent the most common means of storing energy for auxiliary or emergency power requirements. It is not unusual for a typical commercial airliner, such as a B-737 or A-320, to have dozens of batteries on board. Over time, multiple battery chemistries were put to the test and the industry is still working on the optimal option. The lithium-ion technology has been gaining acceptance, with some important aspects to be considered: the application type, basic safety requirements and the presence or absence of humans on the vehicle. The Electrification of Civil Aircraft and the Evolution of Energy Storage, edited by Michael Waller, presents 10 seminal SAE technical papers which address multiple aspects of specific design, cell configuration and mitigation strategies in the case of battery failure. Additionally, with all the changes resulting from monitoring, control, and performance/safety test criteria, battery manufacturers have found themselves becoming systems integrators, having to quickly acquire knowledge of electronics and system modeling. As new technologies become available, industry will attempt to take advantage of all potential benefits, in a process that can have a profound impact on the product offerings that emerge and in the way business is conducted. The Electrification of Civil Aircraft and the Evolution of Energy Storage presents a solid perspective on how civil aviation has matured in its quest to develop lighter, more efficient and less polluting aircraft, and also more electric.

The Use of Electric Batteries for Civil Aircraft Applications is a comprehensive and focused collection of SAE International technical papers, covering both the past and the present of the efforts to develop batteries that can be specifically installed in commercial aircraft. Recently, major commercial aircraft manufacturers started investigating the possibility of using Li-Ion batteries at roughly the same time that the military launched their first applications. As industry events unfolded, the FAA and committees from RTCA and SAE continued efforts to create meaningful standards for the design, testing, and certification of Li-Ion battery systems for commercial aviation. The first document issued was RTCA DO-311 on Mar. 13, 2008. As the industry continues to develop concepts and designs for the safe utilization of the new Li-Ion battery systems, many are already working on designs for all-electric aircraft, and small two-seat training aircraft are currently flying. The challenges for an all-electric, transport category aircraft will be significant, and the battery design ranks as one of the greatest. The more energy that is packaged into a small area to provide for the propulsion requirements, the more stringent are the design parameters and mitigation methodologies needed to make the system safe. The success or failure of this endeavor lies squarely on the shoulders of the engineers and scientists developing these new systems, and places additional pressure on the regulatory agencies to acquire the relevant knowledge for the creation of minimum operational performance standards for them. Edited by Michael Waller, an industry veteran, The Use of Electric Batteries for Civil Aircraft Applications, is a must-read for those interested in the new power generation making its way into commercial aircraft.

Fundamentals of Electric Aircraft was developed to explain what the electric aircraft stands for by offering an objective view of what can be expected from the giant strides in innovative architectures and technologies enabling aircraft electrification. Through tangible case studies, a deep insight is provided into this paradigm shift cutting across various aircraft segments – from General Aviation to Large Aircraft. Addressing design constraints and timelines foreseen to reach acceptable performance and maturity levels, Fundamentals of Electric Aircraft puts forward a general view of the progress made to date and what to expect in the years to come. Drawing from the expertise of four industry veterans, Pascal Thalin (editor), Ravi Rajamani, Jean-Charles Mare and Sven Taubert (contributors), it addresses futuristic approaches but does not depart too far from the operational down-to-earth realities of everyday business. Fundamentals of Electric Aircraft also offers analyses on how performance enhancements and fuel burn savings may bring more value for money as long as new electric technologies deliver on their promises.

The primary human activities that release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere are the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) to generate electricity, the provision of energy for transportation, and as a consequence of some industrial processes. Although aviation CO2 emissions only make up approximately 2.0 to 2.5 percent of total global annual CO2 emissions, research to reduce CO2 emissions is urgent because (1) such reductions may be legislated even as commercial air travel grows, (2) because it takes new technology a long time to propagate into and through the aviation fleet, and (3) because of the ongoing impact of global CO2 emissions. Commercial Aircraft Propulsion and Energy Systems Research develops a national research agenda for reducing CO2 emissions from commercial aviation. This report focuses on propulsion and energy technologies for reducing carbon emissions from large, commercial aircraftâ€" single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft that carry 100 or more passengersâ€"because such aircraft account for more than 90 percent of global emissions from commercial aircraft. Moreover, while smaller aircraft also emit CO2, they make only a minor contribution to global emissions, and many technologies that reduce CO2 emissions for large aircraft also apply to smaller aircraft. As commercial aviation continues to grow in terms of revenue-passenger miles and cargo ton miles, CO2 emissions are expected to increase. To reduce the contribution of aviation to climate change, it is essential to improve the effectiveness of ongoing efforts to reduce emissions and initiate research into new approaches.

The environmental impact of hydrocarbon-burning aircraft is one of the main motivations for the move to electric propulsion in aerospace. Also, cars, buses, and trucks are incorporating electric or hybrid-electric propulsion systems, reducing the pressure on hydrocarbons and lowering the costs of electrical components. The economies of scale necessitated by the automotive industry will help contain costs in the aviation sector as well. The use of electric propulsion in airplanes is not a new phenomenon. However, it is only recently that it has taken off in a concrete manner with a viable commercial future. The Electric Flight Technology: Unfolding of a New Future reviews the history of this field, discusses the key underlying technologies, and describes how the future for these technologies will likely unfold, distinguishing between all-electric (AE) and hybrid-electric (HE) architectures. Written by Dr. Ravi Rajamani, it covers the essential information needed to understand this new technology wave taking hold in the aerospace industry. The Electric Flight Technology: Unfolding of a New Future covers fundamental topics such as: • The history of electric propulsion, including its evolution from using traditional electricity, to solar power to batteries as sources to sustain propulsion and flight. • The various architectures being considered for electric aircraft, specifically small general aviation (GA) aircraft and larger business jets; single-aisle commercial aircraft; and larger twin-aisle commercial aircraft. • The various systems and subsystems of an electric aircraft, along with how various subsystems in the vehicle can be integrated in a more optimal manner. In the future, the existing tube-and-wing configuration will not be the only available architecture; instead we will be more likely to find an architecture where the propulsion system is embedded within the airframe. • The future trends in this arena and what we can expect to see in the next decade or so.