Evaluation of a small drone performance using fuel cell and battery; Constraint and mission analyzes

Abstract

Drones have important uses such as relief, photography, military purposes. However, designing an efficient propulsion system for the drone that can ensure its reliability and flight endurance is a major challenge. Relying on an all-electric propulsion system can enhance flight endurance and improve drone performance. In this article, two types of fuel cells, proton-exchange membrane fuel cell and solid oxide fuel cell have been considered (individually) to supply the power consumption of the drone. In addition, a battery is embedded in parallel with the fuel cell in the propulsion system. To evaluate the performance of the drone, two constraint and mission analyzes have been established to determine the power consumption of the drone during various flight modes and weight distribution of the drone. Then a comparison on the drone’s performance with respect to the electrochemical behavior of both fuel cells is provided. Finally, the performance of fuel cells in propulsion system based on the International Standard Atmosphere model is discussed. Results revealed that the solid oxide fuel cell and proton-exchange membrane fuel cell can generate 82.1 and 162.7 W of electrical power respectively. In addition, drone needs about 1.46 kW of electrical power. The flight endurance and total weight of the drone are equal to 6.8 h and 6.3 kg, respectively. It was also found that the required area of the solid oxide fuel cell is approximately 98% less than the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell to provide the total electricity consumption of the drone. Furthermore, the effect of increasing cruise speed on drone’s net weight is more remarkable compared to power consumption.

Keywords

• Small drone
• Fuel cell
• Battery
• Constraint analysis
• Mission analysis
• ISA model