Conceptual Design of a Hybrid Hydrogen Fuel Cell/Battery Blended-Wing-Body Unmanned Aerial Vehicle—An Overview

Abstract

The manuscript presents the conceptual design phase of an unmanned aerial vehicle, with the objective of a systems approach towards the integration of a hydrogen fuel-cell system and Li-ion batteries into an aerodynamically efficient platform representative of future aircraft configurations. Using a classical approach to aircraft design and a combination of low- and high-resolution computational simulations, a final blended wing body UAV was designed with a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg and 4 m wingspan. Preliminary aerodynamic and propulsion sizing demonstrated that the aircraft is capable of completing a 2 h long mission powered by a 650 W fuel cell, hybridized with a 100 Wh battery pack, and with a fuel quantity of 80 g of compressed hydrogen.

Endurance of unmanned aerial vehicles

“…因此, 针对燃料电池 -二次电 池混合体系, 上文总结的针对单一电池系统的优化策略依然适用. 例如, 借助于合理的飞机外形设计, Suewatanakul 等 [63] 采用经典的飞机设计方法, 结合低分辨率和高分辨率的计算模拟, 设计了一种最 大起飞重量为 25 kg, 翼展为 4 m 的无人机, 由 650 W 燃料电池结合 100 Wh 锂电池组供电, 飞机能够 完成 2 h 的飞行任务. 此外, 对优化混合体系的电池管理系统 (提高二者的集成度) 也是解决功率分配 问题的有效方法之一.…”

Aerodynamic Analysis of a Logistics UAV with Foldable Bi-wing Configuration

“…Figure 6 illustrates the aircraft's geometry, which incorporates a single straight wing, no dihedral or twist angle, and a twin-boom inverted V-tail configuration [16][17][18]. Key design parameters are outlined in Table 5, including a sizable takeoff weight of 82 kg and a cruising speed of 108 km/h.…”

“…This paper proposes a twin-boom, inverted V-tailed UAV equipped with a foldable wings configuration [16][17][18]. The wings of this UAV are designed to adapt to different mission stages; they spread out to provide sufficient lift during takeoff and landing and fold in during cruising to reduce aerodynamic drag.…”

Minimum hydrogen consumption‐based energy management strategy for hybrid fuel cell unmanned aerial vehicles using direction prediction optimal foraging algorithm

“…However, a hybrid energy storage system with Li-ion batteries can better utilize the performance of FCs and provide or absorb peak power [7]. Therefore, the energy storage system comprising FCs and Li-ion batteries is proposed to be applied in UAVs, which perfectly solves the short endurance and frequent refueling problems [8]. Indeed, the Korean company MetaVista recently achieved a world flight record of nearly 12 h and 7 min using an Intelligent Energy 800 W FC drone [9].…”