Improving maintainability of the battery storage system in electric aircrafts

Abstract

Due to the rising environmental awareness and fluctuating fuel prices over the past decade, several countries started collaborating on a national program to achieve the climate agreement goals of the Paris agreement. At the moment, one of the most crucial challenges of the electrification process is the replacement of conventional engines. As there is a substantial gap in energy density between fuel and batteries per unit volume, the consequence is increasing aircraft weight after electrification. The overall stability and configuration of the aircraft are affected by the altered weight, hence requiring further analysis. This paper focuses on discussing and proposing future solutions for the battery storage system in terms of maintainability and position in the aircraft. Methodology-wise, to validate the research solutions the paper uses a conventional aircraft planned to be retrofitted with a hybrid propulsion system as a case study. The results show that the battery system has to be separated into two main categories, namely the energy and structural storage system where the former concerns the selection of battery type and defining the battery size/ weight based on the required energy output and whereas the latter regards the positioning and structural design of the battery storage system.