Baseline architecture design for a turboelectric distributed propulsion system using single turboshaft engine operational scenario

Abstract

Reducing the carbon footprints of aerial transportation became a major target for both industries and academia. Various solutions have been proposed to develop cleaner alternative methods for green transportation. Full electric, hybrid electric, and turboelectric propulsion system architectures intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption of today's aero gas turbine engines. In this study, a turboelectric propulsion system, which is considered as the most promising technology for future aviation is selected for modelling and simulation. As the main power supply, a high fidelity mathematical model of GE T700 turboshaft engine is constructed in MATLAB/Simulink to emulate the technology of today. Selected aero gas turbine's mathematical model is combined with NASA's Baseline electrical power distribution architecture which is firstly designed for N-3X turboelectric aircraft. MATLAB/Simulink model is utilized to analyses a single-engine operational scenario of twin-engine aircraft which is a major design consideration due to single-engine failure. Power requirements, distribution percentages, preliminary power assessment for power electronic systems and nominal power capacities of each electrical unit of a turboelectric propulsion system are obtained using GE T700 as the main power supply.