Optimizing Thermal Management Systems to Augment the Operational Longevity of Electric Aircraft

When:  Jan 29, 2025 from 17:00 to 18:00 (ET)
Associated with  New England Section

Optimizing Thermal Management Systems to Augment the Operational Longevity of Electric Aircraft

Date & Time: January 29th, 2025, 5:00-6:00 pm EST

Registration: https://aiaa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OkxCTIYuS7mrIXLYYz_H4g

The AIAA New England Section is organizing an expert webinar session. Come and listen to Dr. Matthew Clarke talk about the thermal management systems in electric aircraft.

Electrification of transportation is seemingly inevitable, with automotive sectors leading the transition by adopting lithium-ion batteries as the primary energy source. However, batteries remain the Achilles’ heel of electric aircraft despite remarkable advancements; battery performance drastically falls outside the 40F to 120F range. This presentation investigates the relationship between thermal management system design and battery life in electric aircraft. While typical approaches size thermal management systems for maximum heat extraction during climb, this analysis examines alternative sizing strategies focused on minimally-sized systems that maintain battery temperature within operational limits while demonstrating superiority in extending state-of-health. The analysis incorporates often neglected system-level interactions, where the thermal management system's mass affects propulsion power requirements, while drawing additional power from the battery pack. Through a detailed examination of multiple configurations and Latin Hypercube sampling of the design space, this study evaluates how the resulting thermal and current profiles influence battery pack longevity. Sensitivity analysis reveals that while reservoir volume dominates system weight considerations, all thermal management components have a comparable influence on battery life through direct and coupled effects. These findings provide insights into optimal thermal management system design that balances weight penalties against thermal performance for maximum battery life.

 

Speaker bio:

Dr. Matthew Clarke is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois. His research interests include aircraft design, aerodynamics, and aeroacoustics, with a keen focus on studying novel hybrid/all-electric propulsion architectures. A former Boeing Postdoctoral Fellow in Aero/Astro at MIT, with a Ph.D. and M.S. in Aero/Astro from Stanford University, as well as a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, his academic foundation is both comprehensive and diverse. Dr. Clarke is the PI of the Laboratory for Electric Aircraft Design and Sustainability, whose mission is to advance research in environmentally conscious, economical vehicle design through physics-based modeling and subscale experimentation. His accomplishments of leading the development of aircraft design software used by over 10,000 researchers and engineers globally saw him recognized on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2024

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Location

Contact

Shreyas Hegde
(919)519-6719
shreyas.hegde7@gmail.com