Projects
Projects: Projects for Investigator |
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| Reference Number | EP/W033941/1 | |
| Title | Towards Zero Emissions Electric Aircraft through Superconducting DC Distribution Network | |
| Status | Started | |
| Energy Categories | Energy Efficiency(Transport) 20%; Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Hydrogen end uses (incl. combustion; excl. fuel cells)) 80%; |
|
| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 100% | |
| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Not Cross-cutting 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Dr X Pei No email address given Electronic and Electrical Engineering University of Bath |
|
| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | EPSRC | |
| Start Date | 01 September 2023 | |
| End Date | 31 August 2028 | |
| Duration | 60 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £1,381,562 | |
| Industrial Sectors | Transport Systems and Vehicles | |
| Region | South West | |
| Programme | NC : Engineering | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Dr X Pei , Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath (100.000%) |
| Industrial Collaborator | Project Contact , University of Manchester (0.000%) Project Contact , Airbus SAS, France (0.000%) Project Contact , IXYS UK Westcode Ltd (0.000%) Project Contact , Aerospace Technology Institute (0.000%) |
|
| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | ||
| Abstract | Electrification of aviation will be central to achieve ambitious environmental targets for the reduction of carbon emission, fuel burn and noise. The UK Aviation Strategy 2050 sets out objectives to ensure a safe and secure way to travel, support growth while tackling environmental impacts. A current game-changing concept is hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. Airbus ZEROe concept aircraft enables investigation of hydrogen technologies that will shape the future zero-emission aircraft. Large-scale hydrogen-powered electric aircraft of multi-megawatt level have very high requirements on power density and efficiency of the on-board electric network. Liquid hydrogen offers a cryogenic environment for the electric network, which opens new opportunities for the use of superconductivity. A cryogenic and superconducting direct current (DC) distribution network is a key step for the development of large-scale hydrogen-powered electric aircraft due to its high efficiency, high-power density, and reduced impact on the overall weight of the aircraft. The Fellowship aims to make an important contribution towards the development of large-scale hydrogen-powered electric aircraft by developing the first reliable high-power density and high efficiency cryogenic and superconducting DC distribution network. A cryogenic and superconducting direct current (DC) distribution network is attractive due to its high-power density, high efficiency, and reduced impact on the overall weight of the aircraft. This Fellowship will address the highly demanding safety and reliability requirements of the superconducting DC distribution network, necessary to ensure the supply to flight critical loads and to enable the safe recovery of the supply from any fault conditions. It will do so through a novel, powerful combination of numerical and experimental methods to deliver the first cryogenic hybrid DC circuit breaker combined with a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL). By collaborating with Airbus, ATI FlyZero, IXYS UK Westcode Ltd., and University of Manchester, a pioneering method for the control and protection of the superconducting DC distribution network for large-scale hydrogen-powered electric aircraft will be demonstrated as a vital pathway to make the technology viable for future commercial zero emissions and low noise electric aircraft | |
| Publications | (none) |
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| Final Report | (none) |
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| Added to Database | 20/09/23 | |
