西科斯基押注混合動力電動推進作為未來的垂直升降機

While the commercial aviation sector has been investing heavily in sustainability, the interest from military operators has been far more tepid.

Although the US Air Force has provided research and development funding to a number of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft designers, including Beta Technologies and Electra, the Pentagon has no plans to field sustainable aircraft operationally.

The prospects for such a move have become even dimmer under the Trump Administration, which has purged support for electric vehicles, climate change research, renewable energy, and defense programs not focused on the ill-defined concept of “lethality”.

However, one major defense manufacturer sees such technology as an important plank of its future business.

“We think hybrid-electric will be a big part of the future,” says Rich Benton, general manager of vertical lift heavyweight Sikorsky.

Speaking to FlightGlobal, Benton says hybrid-electric propulsion systems have the potential to increase the range of conventional helicopters by 30%, along with similar reductions in operating and maintenance costs.

Instead of transferring mechanical energy from a turboshaft to rotor blades, a serial hybrid-electric propulsion system employs a small thermal engine as a turbogenerator, which then powers the electric proprotor motors.

“We only have electrical wiring instead of transmissions and drivetrains, so it has fewer failure points,” Ramsey Bentley, Sikorsky’s director of advanced concepts and innovation, tells FlightGlobal.

This, he notes, also makes hybrid-electric rotorcraft easier and cheaper to maintain, even in an austere field environment.

Benton also notes that the hybrid-electric propulsion systems under development could also be capable of operating in a full-electric mode, offering unique benefits to rotorcraft operators.

“Now you don’t have an engine or a turbine running,” Benton notes. “That provides a unique acoustic signature, depending on what the mission capability would be.”

Sikorsky is developing a prototype hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) demonstrator known as HEX that will boast a range of some 500nm (926km) with maximum gross take-off weight of 4,800kg (9,000lb) and the ability to travel at “high speed”.

The tiltwing concept is powered by two GE Aerospace 600kW electric motors, coupled with a 1.2MW generator, and equipped with Sikorsky’s proprietary Matrix autonomous flight system.

Although its initial HEX concept will be controlled by an onboard pilot and be capable of carrying passengers, the design is meant to serve as a platform to demonstrate and mature technology for a future family of air mobility vehicles.

Elsewhere, Sikorsky is advancing another hybrid-electric tiltwing vehicle intended for operational military service.

Known as the rotor-blown-wing (RBW), the uncrewed VTOL rotorcraft will come in a range of sizes intended for different mission sets, including reconnaissance, air-to-ground strikes, electronic warfare or even transporting cargo.

In January, the company completed a successful transition from vertical to forward flight using a 3.1m (10.3ft) wingspan, 52kg sub-scale RBW demonstrator – a task which required developing new control laws for the novel aircraft.

Sikorsky has since completed dozens of flights with the tail-sitting vehicle, with strong optimism about potential military applications for the hybrid-electric concept.

The company envisions at least four different autonomous RBW variants, with two in the Group 4 category of large uncrewed aircraft with a maximum take-off weight above 598kg and an operating ceiling of up to 18,000ft.

Benton says the largest RBW models could be outfitted with an underwing cabin to carry passengers, opening up a wider range of commercial and military applications.

Notably, he says the best opportunity to launch the new hybrid-electric engine technology may be in the civil market, which has not been a major business focus for Sikorsky in recent years.

“We’re looking at potentially the civil market being the launch customer for hybrid-electric,” he notes.

This could see a new aircraft reach the market in the 2030s. Benton says it could be either a tiltwing or a conventional single-main rotor design.

...SP的筆記

Story and Image Credit: FlightGlobal and Sikorsky

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電動混合動力車、電動航空、電動船舶技術和未來創新電動混合動力垂直起降航空航太技術新聞遍佈全球！ EVHNews.com 是專為 EVVTOL 提供的全球數位技術平台，EVVTOL 是一家全球電動車/混合動力車、電子航空、電動垂直起降 (E-VTOL)、電動船舶未來技術產業展覽與博覽會活動組織，全球最大的電動車和電動垂直起降 (E-VTOL) 品牌在此投資交通運輸的未來。 EV H News 致力於電動車和電動混合動力車、電子航空、電子垂直起降無人機、電子船舶，以及包括電動車、電子半導體和電動卡車在內的產業。這個數位平台將包括來自全球行業領袖的評論和資源，其中許多重點關注清潔藍色技術和適用的替代燃料。 EVH 新聞平台讓所有人都能獲得未來電子汽車、電子航空、電子船舶、電動摩托車、電子半導體和電動卡車電子賽車產業突破性電子技術的工具和資訊。關於 EVVTOL • EVVTOL 是一家新公司，透過策略性地定位自己，將自己打造成最具影響力的全球未來技術展覽/博覽會活動組織，以成功滿足 EV 和 VTOL 運輸行業客戶的需求！ • EVVTOL 的目標是透過發布和展示尖端的 EV 和 E-VTOL 技術來展示 EV 和 VTOL 行業並介紹電子技術領域的主要 EV 和 VTOL 車輛和零件製造商。 • EVVTOL 的使命是推出多項技術展會和博覽會，包括具有影響力的高層電動汽車商業峰會，以與電動汽車和電動汽車移動行業、能源汽車資訊技術和充電基礎設施行業的主要製造商進行商業合作的雙重主題為基礎。這些活動是了解和討論電動車和垂直起降飛機行業最新未來運輸技術進步以及仍然存在的電池能源挑戰的絕佳機會。 (evvtol.org) 877-4EV-VTOL (877-438-8865)

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