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This could be a big technology: high temp superconducting aircraft engines.
PhysOrg article....
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PhysOrg article....
Superconducting Turbojet
An all-electric aircraft could soon appear over the horizon thanks to high-flying scientific research published today in the Institute of Physics' journal, Superconductor Science and Technology. The new type of aircraft, currently on the drawing board, could be far more efficient than conventional aircraft, produce less greenhouse emissions, and be quieter.
Air travel is on the increase, but it comes at a price in terms of the emissions driving climate change. Aircraft currently account for about 5% of UK emissions with a single long-haul flight the equivalent of a ton of carbon dioxide per passenger. With such worrying figures making the headlines, alternatives to combustion-based propulsion systems could be the key.
Superconducting motors could be one such alternative, according to scientists in America. Philippe Masson and Cesar Luongo from Florida State University, who have collaborated with Gerald Brown at NASA and Danielle Soban at Georgia Institute of Technology, explain that because superconductors lose no energy through electrical resistance, they could be very efficient components for a new type of aircraft propulsion.
The researchers explain that to build an electric aircraft will require propulsion motors that are high power, lightweight and compact. Current technology cannot meet these demands because an electric motor using conventional magnets can weigh up to five times as much as conventional jet engine and not be as fuel efficient.
In contrast, a superconducting motor would be very lightweight and far more efficient electrically, generating three times the torque of a conventional electric motor for the same energy input and weight. In addition, an electric aircraft would be far quieter than a conventional jet as there are no internal combustion processes involved. It is the combustion of fossil fuels to drive a conventional aircraft that makes them so noisy.
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An all-electric aircraft could soon appear over the horizon thanks to high-flying scientific research published today in the Institute of Physics' journal, Superconductor Science and Technology. The new type of aircraft, currently on the drawing board, could be far more efficient than conventional aircraft, produce less greenhouse emissions, and be quieter.
Air travel is on the increase, but it comes at a price in terms of the emissions driving climate change. Aircraft currently account for about 5% of UK emissions with a single long-haul flight the equivalent of a ton of carbon dioxide per passenger. With such worrying figures making the headlines, alternatives to combustion-based propulsion systems could be the key.
Superconducting motors could be one such alternative, according to scientists in America. Philippe Masson and Cesar Luongo from Florida State University, who have collaborated with Gerald Brown at NASA and Danielle Soban at Georgia Institute of Technology, explain that because superconductors lose no energy through electrical resistance, they could be very efficient components for a new type of aircraft propulsion.
The researchers explain that to build an electric aircraft will require propulsion motors that are high power, lightweight and compact. Current technology cannot meet these demands because an electric motor using conventional magnets can weigh up to five times as much as conventional jet engine and not be as fuel efficient.
In contrast, a superconducting motor would be very lightweight and far more efficient electrically, generating three times the torque of a conventional electric motor for the same energy input and weight. In addition, an electric aircraft would be far quieter than a conventional jet as there are no internal combustion processes involved. It is the combustion of fossil fuels to drive a conventional aircraft that makes them so noisy.
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However, superconducting magnets not only have to be cold, but require a unique energy supply. Masson and his colleagues believe they could solve both problems by using liquid hydrogen to run an electric fuel cell. Liquid hydrogen is cold enough to make the superconducting magnets work but also has four times as much energy weight for weight than aviation fuel.
A fuel cell produces no polluting emissions, just warm water as the hydrogen combines with oxygen. This, say the researchers would mean zero carbon emissions from the aircraft as it flies. "The idea is to reduce the emissions from the aircraft and airports," explains team leader Masson, "The energy needed to produce the liquid hydrogen could come from a remote powerplant". Such a powerplant might be solar or wind powered.
"We could potentially build a superconducting motor and generator smaller than a gas turbine, which would make possible electric propulsion," says Masson. Electrical propulsion would not only decrease emissions but also reduce to a minimum the needs for maintenance as all hydraulic systems would be eliminated, he adds. The team has designed such systems with high fidelity models and optimization tools.
Masson adds that the team is now looking for an industrial partner to build a prototype of the superconducting "turbofan". "The technology is there," he says, "it is a matter of finding a source of funding."
A fuel cell produces no polluting emissions, just warm water as the hydrogen combines with oxygen. This, say the researchers would mean zero carbon emissions from the aircraft as it flies. "The idea is to reduce the emissions from the aircraft and airports," explains team leader Masson, "The energy needed to produce the liquid hydrogen could come from a remote powerplant". Such a powerplant might be solar or wind powered.
"We could potentially build a superconducting motor and generator smaller than a gas turbine, which would make possible electric propulsion," says Masson. Electrical propulsion would not only decrease emissions but also reduce to a minimum the needs for maintenance as all hydraulic systems would be eliminated, he adds. The team has designed such systems with high fidelity models and optimization tools.
Masson adds that the team is now looking for an industrial partner to build a prototype of the superconducting "turbofan". "The technology is there," he says, "it is a matter of finding a source of funding."
HTS machines as enabling technology for all-electric airborne vehicles
P J Masson1, G V Brown2, D S Soban3 and C A Luongo1
1 FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Center for Advanced Power Systems, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA
2 NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
3 Aerospace System Design Laboratory/Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 32332, USA
Abstract: Environmental protection has now become paramount as evidence mounts to support the thesis of human activity-driven global warming. A global reduction of the emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere is therefore needed and new technologies have to be considered. A large part of the emissions come from transportation vehicles, including cars, trucks and airplanes, due to the nature of their combustion-based propulsion systems. Our team has been working for several years on the development of high power density superconducting motors for aircraft propulsion and fuel cell based power systems for aircraft. This paper investigates the feasibility of all-electric aircraft based on currently available technology. Electric propulsion would require the development of high power density electric propulsion motors, generators, power management and distribution systems. The requirements in terms of weight and volume of these components cannot be achieved with conventional technologies; however, the use of superconductors associated with hydrogen-based power plants makes possible the design of a reasonably light power system and would therefore enable the development of all-electric aero-vehicles. A system sizing has been performed both for actuators and for primary propulsion. Many advantages would come from electrical propulsion such as better controllability of the propulsion, higher efficiency, higher availability and less maintenance needs. Superconducting machines may very well be the enabling technology for all-electric aircraft development.
P J Masson1, G V Brown2, D S Soban3 and C A Luongo1
1 FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Center for Advanced Power Systems, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA
2 NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
3 Aerospace System Design Laboratory/Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 32332, USA
Abstract: Environmental protection has now become paramount as evidence mounts to support the thesis of human activity-driven global warming. A global reduction of the emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere is therefore needed and new technologies have to be considered. A large part of the emissions come from transportation vehicles, including cars, trucks and airplanes, due to the nature of their combustion-based propulsion systems. Our team has been working for several years on the development of high power density superconducting motors for aircraft propulsion and fuel cell based power systems for aircraft. This paper investigates the feasibility of all-electric aircraft based on currently available technology. Electric propulsion would require the development of high power density electric propulsion motors, generators, power management and distribution systems. The requirements in terms of weight and volume of these components cannot be achieved with conventional technologies; however, the use of superconductors associated with hydrogen-based power plants makes possible the design of a reasonably light power system and would therefore enable the development of all-electric aero-vehicles. A system sizing has been performed both for actuators and for primary propulsion. Many advantages would come from electrical propulsion such as better controllability of the propulsion, higher efficiency, higher availability and less maintenance needs. Superconducting machines may very well be the enabling technology for all-electric aircraft development.