Flight of an aeroplane with solid-state propulsion

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 563; no. 7732; pp. 532 - 535
• Main Authors: Xu, Haofeng, He, Yiou, Strobel, Kieran L, Gilmore, Christopher K, Kelley, Sean P, Hennick, Cooper C, Sebastian, Thomas, Woolston, Mark R, Perreault, David J, Barrett, Steven R H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.11.2018
• Subjects: Aircraft; Aircraft aerodynamics; Aircraft design; Airplanes; Batteries; Cameras; Combustion; Design optimization; Electric converters; Electric fields; Electric power systems; Electric propulsion; Electrodes; Electrohydrodynamics; Emissions; Flight; Fluids; Fossil fuels; Fuel combustion; High voltages; Ion engines; Power converters; Propellers; Propulsion systems; Solid state; Thrust; Turbines
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0707-9

Since the first aeroplane flight more than 100 years ago, aeroplanes have been propelled using moving surfaces such as propellers and turbines. Most have been powered by fossil-fuel combustion. Electroaerodynamics, in which electrical forces accelerate ions in a fluid , has been proposed as an alternative method of propelling aeroplanes-without moving parts, nearly silently and without combustion emissions . However, no aeroplane with such a solid-state propulsion system has yet flown. Here we demonstrate that a solid-state propulsion system can sustain powered flight, by designing and flying an electroaerodynamically propelled heavier-than-air aeroplane. We flew a fixed-wing aeroplane with a five-metre wingspan ten times and showed that it achieved steady-level flight. All batteries and power systems, including a specifically developed ultralight high-voltage (40-kilovolt) power converter, were carried on-board. We show that conventionally accepted limitations in thrust-to-power ratio and thrust density , which were previously thought to make electroaerodynamics unfeasible as a method of aeroplane propulsion, are surmountable. We provide a proof of concept for electroaerodynamic aeroplane propulsion, opening up possibilities for aircraft and aerodynamic devices that are quieter, mechanically simpler and do not emit combustion emissions.