INNOVATIVE THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR FUEL CELL ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT

The Thermal Management System (TMS) is a crucial component of the aircraft, particularly in case of layout exploiting a high level of electrification of propulsion systems. Specifically, use of fuel cells in aviation industry appears to be extremely challenging, due to the significant amount of waste heat produced. Therefore, the aim of this paper is introducing some technical solutions proposed by the literature for an effective thermal management of the aircraft. Particularly, the identification of most relevant heat sinks for the aviation is performed, with a specific interest for solutions exploiting the stored fuel intrinsic heat capacity. The example of a conceptual hybridelectric, fuel cell powered, turbo-propeller driven, regional transport aircraft is then described. The Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) methodology is applied to define the system use cases and to identify the most relevant requirements. A possible system architecture is finally proposed. The paper provides some considerations over the topic of fuel-based TMS (F-TMS) to the specific case of hybrid-electric, fuel cell, regional aircraft.