Improving the environmental impact of civil aircraft by fuel cell technology: concepts and technological progressThis article results from the Hyceltec 2009 meeting
Nowadays, new technologies and breakthroughs in the fields of energy efficiency, alternative fuels and added-value electronics are leading to improved, more environmentally sustainable and green thinking applications. Due to the forecasted rapid increase of volume of air traffic, future aircraft gen...
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| Main Authors | , , , , , |
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| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
29.09.2010
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Nowadays, new technologies and breakthroughs in the fields of energy efficiency, alternative fuels and added-value electronics are leading to improved, more environmentally sustainable and green thinking applications. Due to the forecasted rapid increase of volume of air traffic, future aircraft generations have to face enhanced requirements concerning productivity, environmental compatibility and higher operational availability, thus effecting technical, operational and economical aspects of in-flight and on-ground power generation systems, even if air transport is responsible for only about 2% of all anthropogenic CO
2
emissions. The trend in new aircraft development is toward "more electric" architectures which is characterized by a higher proportion of electrical systems substituting hydraulically or pneumatically driven components, and, as a result, increasing the amount of electrical power. Fuel cell systems in this context represent a promising solution regarding the enhancement of the energy efficiency for both cruise and ground operations. For several years the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) in Stuttgart and Hamburg has developed fuel cell systems for aircraft applications. The activities of DLR focus on: identification of fuel cell applications in aircraft in which the properties of fuel cell systems, namely high electric efficiency, low emissions and silent operation, are capitalized for the aircraft application; design and modeling of possible and advantageous system designs; theoretical and experimental investigations regarding specific aircraft relevant operating conditions; qualification of airworthy fuel cell systems; set up and full scale testing of fuel cell systems for application in research aircraft.
In cooperation with Airbus, several fuel cell applications within the aircraft for both ground and cruise operation have been identified. As a consequence, fuel cell systems capable of supporting or even replacing existing systems have been derived. In this context, the provision of inert gas for the jet fuel (kerosene) tank and electrical cabin power supply, including water regeneration, represent the most promising application fields.
This paper will present the state of development and the evolution discussing the following points: modeling of different system architectures and evaluation of promising fuel cell systems; experimental evaluation of fuel cell systems under relevant conditions (low pressure, vibrations, reformate operation,
etc.
); fuel cell test in DLR's research aircraft ATRA (A320) including the test of an emergency system based on hydrogen and oxygen with 20 kW of electrical power. The fuel cell system was integrated into an A320 aircraft and tested up to a flight altitude of 25 000 feet under several acceleration and inclination conditions; fuel cell tests in Antares-H2-DLR's new flying test bed.
An aircraft powered by fuel cells: a first step towards a green future! |
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| Bibliography: | Dr Gwenaelle Renouard-Vallet is, since June 2004, a researcher at the German Aerospace Center, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, Department of Electrochemical Energy Conversion/Group Electrochemical Systems in Hamburg, Germany. After a diploma in material engineering in Limoges (France), she fulfilled an international PhD in Canada and France at three research institutes (Sherbrooke University, Limoges University and "Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission"-CEA) on solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte development plasma technology. In the last few years, her activities have been oriented towards the development of fuel cell systems for aircraft application. Her research interests are fuel cell system behaviour under aircraft environment, research on possible functionalities and integration aspects. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Schirmer started his PhD in 1998 at the Institute for Technical Chemistry I in Erlangen with a thesis in the field of Catalytic Plastic Recycling. In 2002 he started a Postdoctoral research fellow with Basic Research in the field of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells, at the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics in Stuttgart. Since 2005 he is a project manager and research associate at DLR in the field of Fuel cell system development in low power range and fuel cells for aircraft applications. He is/was Project Manager for several projects like PORTAPOWER, Power Pack, ErgoPack; MobilE-Pack; ELBASYS as also Project Coordinator of BZ-BattExt. He contributed as an author to multiple publications and patents on the field of fuel cell applications. This article results from the Hyceltec 2009 meeting. Dr Josef Kallo started his PhD in 1999 at the "Global Alternative Propulsion Center" of General Motors in Mainz Kastel with a fuel cell related thesis. From 2002 to 2005 he contributed to the development of the General Motors fuel cell driven Zafira H3. In January 2006 Dr Kallo re-established the fuel cell system group at the German Aerospace Center with the main topics fuel cell systems for aircraft applications including the development of an APU replacement unit for large aircrafts and the development of the Antares DLR H2 fuel cell powered 20m wingspan aircraft. The hybrid power plant based on pressurized high temperature fuel cells and gas turbines is a second major topic. Dr Kallo holds the silver f-cell Award and contributed as an author to multiple publications and patents in the field of fuel cell applications. Dr. K. Andreas Friedrich is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Stuttgart and the Head of the Fuel Cell Research group at the German Aerospace Center in Stuttgart. His research areas include PEFCs as well as SOFCs. Starting with early fundamental work on electrocatalysts the research becomes increasingly application oriented with recent specialization on aircraft fuel cell systems. The primary goals comprise enhanced power density, long lifetime, reduction of materials and manufacturing costs, identification and prevention of degradation mechanisms in stacks, advanced and optimised integration of fuel cells into energy supply systems. Dr. Friedrich has authored and co-authored more than 80 papers in the described research fields. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Martin Saballus worked since June 2004 as a graduated engineer at the German Aerospace Center, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, Department of Electrochemical Energy Conversion/Group Electrochemical Systems in Hamburg, Germany. His major sphere of action has been focused on the development of fuel cell system design for aircraft application. His applied research interests are optimization of system applications from fuel storage to energy supply under different environmental conditions. Dr Gerrit Schmithals is, since 2008, a researcher and project leader at the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics of the German Aerospace Center. He finished his diploma in chemical engineering at the Technische Universität Berlin studying analysis techniques for fuel cell membrane manufacturing control. At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie he obtained a PhD working on the characterisation of catalysts for low temperature fuel cells using electrochemical and X-ray absorption techniques. Research activities in recent and current projects concentrate on integration aspects of fuel cell systems in aircraft applications including thermal management, dynamic behaviour and environmental conditions. via |
| ISSN: | 1754-5692 1754-5706 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/b925930a |