Performance Analysis of Ground-Based Static Test for Hydrogen Fuelcell Propulsion System

2013 ◽  
Vol 393 ◽  
pp. 510-515
Author(s):  
Norhisyam Jenal ◽  
Wahyu Kuntjoro ◽  
Thomas Arthur Ward ◽  
Khairul Imran Sainan ◽  
Firdaus Mohamad

Combustion engines are increasingly being regarded as unsustainable in the long-term, because of their negative impact on the environment (e.g. pollution, green-house gas production, and global warming). This has generated worldwide interest in propulsion systems based on renewable alternative energy sources for the future. Fuel cell technology is a promising alternative power source because of their high specific energy, efficiency, and reliability. Hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in particular produces zero carbon emissions by having only water vapor as the exhaust. Although there has been much research by automotive industries in developing fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEV), fuel cell research for aircraft application is relatively new. Therefore, there is a pressing need for research related to development of aircraft fuel cell electric propulsion systems. Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) is conducting static experiments on different configurations of fuel cell electric propulsion systems. The objective of this study is to understand the behavior of a PEMFC propulsion system under a ground-based static test. A 1 kW PEMFC was used as the main power source for a brushless DC motor electric propulsion system. The electrical characteristics, rotational speed, and thrust data were presented for two different electrical propellers. Analyses of the results were used to characterize the effectiveness of the fuel cell system and its balance of plant. The results were beneficial as a predictive method on defining the optimum electric propulsion system performance needed for future actual flight development.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilltae Roh ◽  
Hansung Kim ◽  
Hyeonmin Jeon ◽  
Kyoungkuk Yoon

The need for technological development to reduce the impact of air pollution caused by ships has been strongly emphasized by many authorities, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This has encouraged research to develop an electric propulsion system using hydrogen fuel with the aim of reducing emissions from ships. This paper describes the test bed we constructed to compare our electric propulsion system with existing power sources. Our system uses hybrid power and a diesel engine generator with a combined capacity of 180 kW. To utilize scale-down methodology, the linear interpolation method is applied. The proposed hybrid power source consists of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), a battery, and a diesel generator, the capacities of which are 100 kW, 30 Kw, and 50 kW, respectively. The experiments we conducted on the test bed were based on the outcome of an analysis of the electrical power consumed in each operating mode considering different types of merchant ships employed in practice. The output, fuel consumption, and CO2 emission reduction rates of the hybrid and conventional power sources were compared based on the load scenarios created for each type of ship. The CO2 emissions of the hybrid system was compared with the case of the diesel generator alone operation for each load scenario, with an average of 70%~74%. This analysis confirmed the effectiveness of using a ship with a fuel-cell-based hybrid power source.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Hyeonmin Jeon ◽  
Jongsu Kim ◽  
Kyoungkuk Yoon

In the case of the electric propulsion system on the vessel, Diode Front End (DFE) rectifiers have been applied for large-sized ships and Active Front End (AFE) rectifiers have been utilized for small and medium-sized ships as a part of the system. In this paper, we design a large electric propulsion ship system using AFE rectifier with the proposed phase angle detector and verify the feasibility of the system by simulation. The phase angle derived from the proposed phase angle detection method is applied to the control of the AFE rectifier instead of the zero-crossing method used to detect the phase angle in the control of the conventional AFE rectifier. We compare and analyze the speed control, Direct Current (DC)-link voltage, harmonic content and measurement data of heat loss by inverter switch obtained from the simulation of the electric propulsion system with the 24-pulse DFE rectifier, the conventional AFE rectifier, and the proposed AFE rectifier. As a result of the simulation, it was confirmed that the proposed AFE rectifier derives a satisfactory result similar to that of a 24-pulse DFE rectifier with a phase shifting transformer installed according to the speed load of the ship, and it can be designed and applied as a rectifier of a large-sized vessel.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Bolbot ◽  
G Theotokatos ◽  
E Boulougouris ◽  
D Vassalos

Cruise ship industry is rapidly developing, with both the vessels size and number constantly growing up, which renders ensuring passengers, crew and ship safety a paramount necessity. Collision, grounding and fire are among the most frequent accidents on cruise ships with high consequences. In this study, a hazard analysis of diesel-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion system is undertaken using System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA). The results demonstrate significant increase in potential hazardous scenarios due to failures in automation and control systems, leading to fire and a higher number of scenarios leading to propulsion and power loss in hybrid-electric propulsion systems than on a conventional cruise-ship propulsion system. Results also demonstrate that STPA enhancement is required to compare the risk of two propulsion systems.


Author(s):  
John C. Bentz

Electrical energy sources offer some interesting possibilies for aircraft propulsion. Of particular interest are electric propulsion systems developed for aircraft that are designed for high altitude, long endurance (HALE) missions. This class of aircraft would greatly benefit from an aircraft propulsion system which minimizes thermal energy rejection and environmental pollutants. Electric propulsion systems may prove viable for the HALE mission, if reliable energy sources can be developed that are both fuel and weight efficient. Fuel cells are a possible energy source. This paper discusses the thermodynamic cyclic analysis of a fuel cell powered electric propulsion system. In particular, phosphoric acid and polymer electrolyte fuel cells are evaluated as possible energy sources.


Aerospace ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Stesina

Miniaturized electric propulsion systems are one of the main technologies that could increase interest in CubeSats for future space missions. However, the integration of miniaturized propulsion systems in modern CubeSat platforms presents some issues due to the mutual interactions in terms of power consumption, chemical contamination and generated thermal and electro-magnetic environments. The present paper deals with the validation of a flexible test platform to assess the interaction of propulsion systems with CubeSat-technologies from mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and chemical perspectives. The test platform is a 6U CubeSat hosting an electric propulsion system and able to manage a variety of electric propulsion systems. The platform can regulate and distribute electric power (up to 60 W), exchange data according to several protocols (e.g., CAN bus, UART, I2C, SPI), and provide different mechanical layouts in 4U box completely dedicated to the propulsion system. Moreover, the data gathered by the onboard sensors are combined with the data from external devices and tools providing unprecedented information about the mutual behavior of a CubeSat platform and an electric propulsion system.


Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mykhaylo Filipenko ◽  
Stefan Biser ◽  
Martin Boll ◽  
Matthias Corduan ◽  
Mathias Noe ◽  
...  

According to Flightpath 2050, the aviation industry is aiming to substantially reduce emissions over the coming decades. One possible solution to meet these ambitious goals is by moving to hybrid-electric drivetrain architectures which require the electric components to be extremely lightweight and efficient at the same time. It has been claimed in several publications that cryogenic and in particular superconducting components can help to fulfill such requirements that potentially cannot be achieved with non-cryogenic components. The purpose of this work was to make a fair comparison between a cryogenic turbo-electric propulsion system (CEPS) and a non-cryogenic turbo-electric propulsion system (TEPS) on a quantitative level. The results on the CEPS were presented in detail in a previous publication. The focus of this publication is to present the study on the TEPS, which in conclusion allows a direct comparison. For both systems the same top-level aircraft requirements were used that were derived within the project TELOS based on an exemplary mission profile and the physical measures of a 220-passenger aircraft. Our study concludes that a CEPS could be 10% to 40% lighter than a TEPS. Furthermore, a CEPS could have a total efficiency gain of up to 18% compared to a similar TEPS.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Renato Huaura Solórzano ◽  
Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida Prado ◽  
Alexander Alexandrovich Sukhanov

Exploration of the outer planets has experienced new interest with the launch of the Cassini and the New Horizons Missions. At the present time, new technologies are under study for the better use of electric propulsion system in deep space missions. In the present paper, the method of the transporting trajectory is used to study this problem. This approximated method for the flight optimization with power-limited low thrust is based on the linearization of the motion of a spacecraft near a keplerian orbit that is close to the transfer trajectory. With the goal of maximizing the mass to be delivered in Saturn, several transfers were studied using nuclear, radioisotopic and solar electric propulsion systems.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenij Koptjaev ◽  
Roman Evseev ◽  
Vyacheslav Balashevich

Many of today's ships are equipped with electric propulsion systems, which leads to the relevance of the article. The general trend is the use of electric propulsion systems AC, due to a more robust design of an asynchronous motor and slightly better weight and dimensions. The use of asynchronous motor requires a static frequency converter for speed control and soft start. In the currently used PWM converters different types. Opportunities classical direct frequency converters are limited due to a number of fundamental shortcomings, particularly the lack of quality of the output voltage and the presence of the gap current during switching. Offered in Article electric propulsion system with direct frequency converter allows for a natural mode switching valves, as well as significantly improve the harmonic composition of output voltage and current of the inverter. The absence of a carrier frequency pulse-width modulation improves acoustics and electromagnetic compatibility with the ship's equipment. Mode powered by two independent generators improves vibro-acoustic characteristics.


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