PhD student Balachandran Thanatheepan with Advisor K. Haran A cryogenic hydrogen-energy electric aircraft is proposed to utilize the high specific energy content of liquid hydrogen (LH2) through fuel-cell energy conversion and an ultra-efficient distributed electric propulsion. The concept uses LH2 both as the energy-storage mechanism and as a cryogen to enable a highly efficient superconducting […]
Design of a Hydrogen-Based Cooling System
PhD student Joshua Feldman with Advisor K. Haran A cryogenic cooling system for a fully superconducting machine is being studied as part of the NASA-funded Center for High-Efficiency Electric Technologies for Aircraft (CHEETA). A topology for this cooling system has been designed and modeled in computer-aided design (CAD) software. It is shown in Figure 3. […]
Maintaining Superconducting Coils at Cryogenic Temperatures
MS student Jianqiao (Peter) Xiao with Advisor K. Haran The main challenge with superconducting (full or partial) machines is the need to maintain the superconducting coils at cryogenic temperatures. The field coils mounted on the rotor require a supporting structure to hold them at high RPM and to transfer the torque from the winding to […]
Brushless Doubly-Fed Reluctance Machines for Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion Systems
PhD student Shivang with advisor A. Banerjee Turboelectric propulsion uses no batteries for propulsive energy during any phase of flight (unlike hybrid and all-electric systems) and is considered a critical enabler for low-carbon emissions in the aircraft industry. As batteries with high enough power capacity and the specific power required for commercial aircraft are unlikely […]