Modeling and Investigation of a Turboprop Hybrid Electric Propulsion System

Abstract

Hybrid electric propulsion in the aviation field is becoming an effective alternative propulsion technology with potential advantages, including fuel savings, lower pollution, and reduced noise emission. On the one hand, the aeroengine manufacturers are working to improve fuel consumption and reduce pollutant emissions with new combustion systems; on the other hand, much attention is given to reducing the weight of the batteries increasing the energy density. Hybrid electric propulsion systems (HEPS) can take advantage of the synergy between two technologies by utilizing both internal combustion engines (ICEs) and electric motors (EMs) together, each operating at their respective optimum conditions. In the present work, some numerical investigations were carried out by using a zero-dimensional code able to simulate the flight mission of a turboprop aircraft, comparing fuel consumption and pollutant emissions of the original engine with other two smaller gas turbines working in hybrid configuration. An algorithm has been implemented to calculate the weight of the batteries for the different configurations examined, evaluating the feasibility of the hybrid propulsion system in terms of number of non-revenue passengers.