Aircraft quite often seem to get designed as an assembly of separate components, wings an entity unto themselves, engines or motors something attached to the fuselage or wings, and not always seen as a set of matched components until final assembly. Quite often, different components are compromised from their optimal shape or structure because of the need to integrate them with other parts of the craft. One group of researchers is finding ways to even cause components to begin communicating among themselves. Some parts, such as engines or motors, are hung on the wing or fuselage as replacements for earlier design variants. The new powerplants may provide additional power, but they may also interfere with the overall performance and handling of the airplane. University of Illinois researchers led by Dr. Phillip Ansell, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering has explored this subset of aeronautics and come to the conclusion that wings and propulsion …
Electric Propulsion for Big Birds
Graham Warwick reports in the August 25 Aviation Week that NASA is investigating the creation of megawatt-scale electric propulsion systems for airliners. These would be much more powerful than those in cars or even semi-trucks, and far lighter than equivalent units in ships. NASA’s research involves partnering with the University of Illinois, Ohio State University, General Electric, and Boeing. NASA Glenn Research Center is working on its own self-cooled, superconducting wound field synchronous motor as part of the overall effort. NASA’s focus, according to the article, “is on electric machines that can be used as generators (sources) and motors (loads) and power electronics that convert AC to DC (rectifiers) and DC to AC (inverters).” Research includes wiring systems that can distribute high levels of electrical power. These efforts would support “near- or medium-term development of partially turboelectric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aircraft up to single-aisle airliner size.” Ambitious Goals, Different Approaches Goals are ambitious, with NASA Research Agreements (NRAs) awarded …