Advancements in Propulsion Technology and Airframes

Onboarding a battery-based propulsion system in an aircraft necessitates, improvements in battery technology, redesigning circuitry within the airframe and the resultant modification of airframes

BY ISHA JAISWAL

Recently the European Union released a study report which stated that aircraft contribute about 3 per cent of the total greenhouse gases over Europe. It is a fact that Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) has the biggest carbon emission footprint in the aviation sector. Compared to this, an electric battery has a minor carbon footprint. However, for the given mass of ATF and battery, the ATF produces more energy per gram of fuel consumed vis-a-vis that of a battery.

Therefore, it is economical to run an aircraft on ATF rather than on battery power. However, in an environmentally conscious aviation sector, in the coming decades, battery power will propel aircraft due to its non-polluting nature. Accordingly, most aircraft manufacturers are trying to source better quality batteries that can generate more power for the given product mass and compete with ATF in performance. Battery inductions necessitate, a requirement of newer airframes, modified power output control systems, use of superconductors, different grades of electrical wires within the aircraft, heat dissipation requirements and more advanced avionics to optimise the power generation by a hybrid or mix of engines where electric power and ATF fuel is used simultaneously to achieve the desired flight performance.

It can be said with certainty that, the future of aviation power pack management lies in utilising batteries that are better than what are available today. Onboarding a battery-based power pack management system in aircraft necessitates, improvements in battery technology, redesigning circuitry within the airframe and the resultant modification of airframes.

Improvement Of Battery Technology

The currently available lithium-ion and sulfur air batteries are being improved upon for reducing their weight while increasing their electricity output and consistency. A battery is heavy and requires constant fuel consumption to haul it for

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