Piston engines have been well established as helicopter drive systems over a long period of time. Today, they are however restricted to the lower end of the TOW scale. Larger helicopters would need large volumes and weights - particularly in the case of Diesel engines - which are difficult to integrate in the fuselage due to the rigid link between motor and main gearbox. Now, in times of rapidly increasing fuel prices, a different position has to be taken. As a promising step to save fuel or to achieve the more or full electric helicopter a full hybrid drive consisting of Diesel engines and electric motors has been proposed and basically described. In the present paper, emphasis will be laid on the crucial points of this technology, such as efficiency, reliability, safety, certifiability, costs, development potential and the potential of a combination with other advanced drive and control technologies. a hybrid drive system is proposed, consisting of Diesel engines, generators and electric engines, replacing turbines, gear boxes and the tail rotor drive train. Instead, the electric-engines will drive the main and tail rotor and will thereby allow new degrees of freedom in design and operation. These are high variations of rotor speed (for the tail rotor down to zero), tilting of the main and tail rotor and an installation of the Diesel engines below the cabin floor, favourable for the centre of gravity position and passenger crash safety. The reduced rotor speed saves fuel and diminishes exterior noise. The hybridisation has become attractive by the appearance of advanced high torque, low weight electric motors, high power density batteries and new efficient Diesel engines. The advantages of such systems become visible mainly for missions with moderate TOW or over long distances, since here the beneficial effects of rpm reduction and lower fuel burn dominate. Reliability, failure safety and certifiability can be enabled by multiple redundancy of all relevant drive system components by segmentation or multiplication. For Life Cycle and Direct Operation Costs, the hybrid drive shows superior values if it succeeds to keep the inherent added system weight low. For the concept of the all electric helicopter, the hybrid system may be a welcome development as intermediate step.
Helicopter hybridisation - The key for drastic reductions of fuel burn and emissions
Hubschrauber-Hybridisierung - Der Schlüssel zur drastischen Reduzierung von Kraftstoffverbrauch und Emissionen
2011
11 Seiten, 23 Bilder, 13 Quellen
Conference paper
English
Helicopter Hybridisation - The Key for Drastic Reductions of Fuel Burn and Emissions
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