Comparative Analysis and Optimization of Technical and Weight Parameters of Turbo-Electric Propulsion Systems

Abstract

According to Flightpath 2050, the aviation industry is aiming to substantially reduce emissions over the coming decades. One possible solution to meet these ambitious goals is by moving to hybrid-electric drivetrain architectures which require the electric components to be extremely lightweight and efficient at the same time. It has been claimed in several publications that cryogenic and in particular superconducting components can help to fulfill such requirements that potentially cannot be achieved with non-cryogenic components. The purpose of this work was to make a fair comparison between a cryogenic turbo-electric propulsion system (CEPS) and a non-cryogenic turbo-electric propulsion system (TEPS) on a quantitative level. The results on the CEPS were presented in detail in a previous publication. The focus of this publication is to present the study on the TEPS, which in conclusion allows a direct comparison. For both systems the same top-level aircraft requirements were used that were derived within the project TELOS based on an exemplary mission profile and the physical measures of a 220-passenger aircraft. Our study concludes that a CEPS could be 10% to 40% lighter than a TEPS. Furthermore, a CEPS could have a total efficiency gain of up to 18% compared to a similar TEPS.