CobraCar11
Active Member
I was wondering what would be the best setup for an aircraft.....
Would it be better to have a hybrid setup with an electric motor and combustion engine combination, with both connected as a direct drive to the prop? Or would it be better to have an electric motor directly drive the prop, and a separate combustion generator to provide the electricity to power it?
In my mind, There could be some efficiency improvement in the electric motor & combustion motor combo, because the direct drive drive does not have to convert electricity to chemical storage in batteries, and then convert it back again. Also, the electricity has a shorter trip, not needing it to travel so far, from generator to electric motor. Additionally, if one should fail, the other system could potentially continue working as a redundancy. (Depending on design)
Some drawbacks exist as well. There are now more components, and more potential sources of failure. Also, it would probably be heavier than a single entity, and could be an issue of weight, balance, and CG. Maintenance could be more difficult as well.
The electric motor driving the prop, with a generator providing power allows more flexibility in fuselage shape and CG, since the electric motor is smaller and lighter than a combustion engine. Also, the setup provides some flexibility in location, as you could locate the generator just about anywhere. (on the wing? Ha ha.) There is some maintenance benefits as well, since the electric motor has fewer parts. If the generator has a failure, the electric motor could have some limited flying time running only on batteries, and the batteries could be located in many different places. There could be some flexibility in sizing the generator as well, depending on the demands of the flight.
I am sure there are more issues than these. I wonder if there has been any research done on the subject? I guess the biggest issue is aircraft design, and that dictates the most....
Would it be better to have a hybrid setup with an electric motor and combustion engine combination, with both connected as a direct drive to the prop? Or would it be better to have an electric motor directly drive the prop, and a separate combustion generator to provide the electricity to power it?
In my mind, There could be some efficiency improvement in the electric motor & combustion motor combo, because the direct drive drive does not have to convert electricity to chemical storage in batteries, and then convert it back again. Also, the electricity has a shorter trip, not needing it to travel so far, from generator to electric motor. Additionally, if one should fail, the other system could potentially continue working as a redundancy. (Depending on design)
Some drawbacks exist as well. There are now more components, and more potential sources of failure. Also, it would probably be heavier than a single entity, and could be an issue of weight, balance, and CG. Maintenance could be more difficult as well.
The electric motor driving the prop, with a generator providing power allows more flexibility in fuselage shape and CG, since the electric motor is smaller and lighter than a combustion engine. Also, the setup provides some flexibility in location, as you could locate the generator just about anywhere. (on the wing? Ha ha.) There is some maintenance benefits as well, since the electric motor has fewer parts. If the generator has a failure, the electric motor could have some limited flying time running only on batteries, and the batteries could be located in many different places. There could be some flexibility in sizing the generator as well, depending on the demands of the flight.
I am sure there are more issues than these. I wonder if there has been any research done on the subject? I guess the biggest issue is aircraft design, and that dictates the most....
