Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft Thermal Management System Design, Simulation, and Operation Improvements

AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum 10.2514/6.
2019-4492
19-22 August 2019, Indianapolis, IN
AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2019 Forum
Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft Thermal Management

System Design, Simulation, and Operation Improvements
Jonathan M. Rheaume*, Malcolm Macdonald†, and Charles E. Lents‡

United Technologies Research Center, 411 Silver Lane, East Hartford, CT 06108
Alternative approaches and configurations for the Thermal Management System (TMS)
of a parallel hybrid electric propulsion system of a commercial single aisle aircraft have been
compared to a baseline approach. A preferred configuration for the acquisition, transport
and rejection of heat has been selected and a conceptual design has been completed. The
Hybrid Electric Propulsion (HEP) system features a battery pack for energy storage, a low
spool motor to assist the fan of a high bypass ratio geared turbofan, and an electric motor
drive. The TMS services these HEP loads as well as the traditional engine heat loads
Downloaded by Jessica Loayza on October 21, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/6.2019-4492
including a high spool starter/generator, bearings (for shafts and fan drive system) and the
accessory gearbox. The model was executed over a mission on hot day conditions (MIL-STD-
210A). A proprietary, object-oriented modeling tool created at the United Technologies
Research Center, REHEATS, was used to model the TMS and to optimize it for minimal fuel
consumption. By separating the battery and motor drive cooling loops and by allowing
battery thermal storage, ram air-cooled heat exchanger weight was reduced to one fifth of
the baseline due to the higher temperature operation of the motor drive and due to colder
air at the altitude where the battery heat exchanger was sized. The results predict that the
TMS of a HEP aircraft increases fuel consumption due to the TMS weight, drag and power
demand by approximately 49.0 lbm (~0.75%) per aircraft over a typical mission.
I. Nomenclature
AOC = Air Oil Cooler HEP = Hybrid Electric Propulsion

Bat = Batteries HSSG = High Spool Starter Gen
Brg = Bearings LSM = Low Spool Motor Gen
CP = Coolant Pump MD = Motor Drive
ECS = Environmental Control System NPSS = Numerical Propulsion System
ESC&D = Energy Storage, Conversion, & Distribution Simulation
E-taxi = Electric taxi OP = Oil pump
Fan DS = Fan Drive System (gear for turbofan) RCC = Ram Coolant Cooler
FOC = Fuel Oil Cooler TAT = Total Air Temperature
FP = Fuel Pump TAP = Total Air Pressure
Gbx = Gearbox for accessories TMS = Thermal Management System
GT = Gas Turbine
II. Introduction
This NASA-funded effort builds upon a previous investigation of a commercial hybrid aircraft engine Thermal
Management System [1]. The electric drive train or Energy Storage, Conversion and Distribution (ESC&D) system
of a parallel hybrid electric aircraft rejects a large heat load at relatively low temperature. The TMS can add
considerable weight unless effective thermal management of the ESC&D system is implemented. The TMS consists
*
Senior Engineer, Thermal Management
†
Staff Engineer, Thermo-Fluid Dynamics
‡
Associate Director, Thermal Management
Copyright © 2019 by United Technologies Corporation. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Univ of Calif Berkeley. Downloaded on October 08,2021 at 01:45:11 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
of heat exchangers, pumps, fans, motors, etc. that draw parasitic power and induce drag (engine fan stream air and
ram air).
The hybrid electric propulsion system consists of a 5 MW parallel hybrid configuration for a commercial, single
aisle aircraft [2] with the ESC&D system integrated with a Geared Turbofan™ engine. The engine core is sized
efficiently for cruise since the electric motor assists the low pressure spool during taxi, takeoff, and climb. During
cruise, descent, and approach, the ESC&D system is deactivated. The ESC&D system is comprised of dual
2000 kW-hr batteries, 2 x 2.2 MW motor drives, 2 x 2.1 MW motors and the associated power panels and feeders
[3].
The TMS model was created for steady state evaluation of the hybrid electric aircraft engine. It utilizes input
data from an earlier NPSS HEP modeling effort of an electrically assisted turbofan [4]. Although batteries at the
current state of the art weigh in heavier than a turbine-driven generator that burns jet fuel [5], this study assumes that
batteries have achieved a competitive energy density of 500 Whr/kg. The TMS cools the battery pack, however, at
altitude when dormant, the pack may need to be heated in order to avoid reduced kinetics of electrochemical
reactions depending on its location in the aircraft (e.g. wings). This investigation focuses on cooling during
discharging. During charging, the heat load can be rejected by ground-based-equipment and therefore is not
considered here.
The United Technologies Research Center has created an object-oriented model in the MATLAB environment,
REHEATS. The model was executed with a user-specified objective function that minimizes mission fuel
consumption. This investigation provides details and results, and insights from the modeling of a hybrid electric
aircraft TMS with battery storage.
III. Method
In a previous investigation [1], a baseline TMS configuration and mission were defined and evaluated in which
thermal loads were calculated and TMS components were sized to meet design point requirements. Performance
over the mission points was predicted, and results presented in a visual format. In this work, a similar approach has
been followed with some modifications to the design, operating procedure, and model as explained below.
A. Selected Alternative TMS Architecture

In the previous effort [1], the batteries and motor drive were situated in the same coolant loop. This resulted in a
relatively large heat exchanger (>350 lbs) owing to the temperature restriction of the batteries. In this investigation,
the battery pack and motor drive are separated in individual cooling loops (Figure 5) because the motor drive can
tolerate higher coolant temperature (160°F). Both cooling loops are cooled by heat exchangers served by a common
ram air flow in series with the battery pack cooling loop heat exchanger located first in the ram duct.
The oil loop layout is unchanged, however, some heat loads differ due to a different operating procedure as
explained below.
The ram air circuit was modified by allowing flow to bypass the fan to avoid sizing a large fan when the ram air
pressure recovery in the air scoop is sufficiently large.
B. Selected Alternative Operating Procedure
Thermal Storage
Previously [1], the TMS was sized to reject all heat as it was produced. This contributed to a large heat
exchanger size because of the low temperature difference between the ram air and batteries on the ground and at low
altitudes. During “climb out” up to 1500 ft, the temperature of stagnated ram air cooling air exceeded 113°F (Table
1), which is identified as the temperature associated with premature battery aging that reduces storage capacity with
repeated cycles (“capacity fade”). The previous cooling scheme resulted in heating of the batteries above the
acceptable temperature during climb out. In this investigation, the battery pack is precooled on hot days on the
ground and the pack is allowed to heat up (thermal storage) at low altitude. As the aircraft ascends, the outside air
temperature decreases and battery pack heat generation diminishes; both facilitate battery pack-cooling and smaller
heat exchanger size. The ram air-cooled battery pack coolant loop heat exchanger is sized at 20,000 ft. At this
altitude, the cooling air stagnation temperature is sufficient for rejecting the entire heat load from a battery pack on a
hot day. In order to avoid exceeding the maximum operating temperature, the batteries need pre-cooling on hot days
on the ground depending on battery mass, heat loads, ambient temperature, and battery specific heat capacity [6].
Figure 1 provides the results of a simple analysis using a calculated bulk battery pack heat capacitance value that
represents the cell and heat acquisition packaging. For various battery specific energies, battery pack temperature is
predicted over a mission assuming adiabatic operation. The mission is presented in Table 1. The lower the battery
pack specific energy, the higher the pack mass, and thus the lower the adiabatic temperature rise will be for a given
amount of dissipated heat. The 125 Whr/kg pack temperature rise is only ~7°C, while the 500 Whr/kg pack
temperature rise is ~26°C. The 500 Whr/kg line illustrates the viability of using battery thermal mass to store
dissipated pack heat until the ambient condition is cold enough to supply a heat sink. The pack temperature rise is
~14°C by 20 kft mid-climb. Even on a hot day, the recovered ram ambient temperature (12.5°C) is far below the
maximum cell temperature for long life (40 to 45°C). Thus cooling to a maximum cell temperature of 40°C, while
rejecting the pack dissipated heat, could begin at 20 kft with the ram air heat sink. The pack would have to be pre-
cooled to 26°C (40°C – 14°C) so that it would just reach 40°C at mid-climb where cooling begins.
Figure 1. Mission variation in temperature of adiabatic batteries and battery heat exchanger by specific
energy (per engine)
Electric Source
The ESC&D TMS has three electric loads (per engine) which require power in order for the TMS to provide
cooling to the ECS&D loads: the ram air fan motor and the two coolant pumps. In the previous effort [1], all electric
loads were sourced by batteries during electric assist. This effort has found that this results in more fuel burn
(required to carry the excess battery pack weight needed to source the TMS electric loads) than sourcing the TMS
loads with the engine-driven High Spool Starter Generator (HSSG). Thus, in this effort, the HSSG sources the
electric loads when the gas turbine engine is running. The HSSG heat load is transferred to the oil loop.
C. Selected Alternative Model Updates
Batteries
As a result of the change in electric source described above, the TMS does not add any battery capacity to cover
electric loads for any mission points.
Taxi
The taxi out mission point has been divided into two segments: the initial portion of Taxi Out is performed
electrically to reduce mission fuel consumption. Then the gas turbine engines are turned on in order to warm up the
engine oil and to allow for the thermal expansion of engine components prior to take-off. E-Taxi was not previously
considered due to the large power load of the Environmental Control System (ECS) and the resulting energy storage
requirement, however, sizing the electric energy source is beyond the scope of the TMS. The battery heat loads due
to ECS operation are covered by the TMS.
During E-Taxi, components in the gas turbine engine such as the Fan Drive System (Fan DS) and bearing heat
loads reject heat to the oil loop.
The return taxi leg is performed electrically. It shares the same mission parameters as E-Taxi out.
Mid-Climb
The battery ram air-coolant cooler (Bat RCC) heat exchanger is sized at mid-climb (20,000 ft) to reject battery
heat as it gets generated. Before this mission point, the battery does not reject heat as discussed above.
Top of Climb
As the aircraft ascends, the battery head load due to battery discharge diminishes as does the heat sink
temperature, thereby allowing additional cooling during top of climb. The heat generated from battery operation
(47.2 kW) is entirely rejected. The ram air cooling system is able to reject an additional 21.3 kW in order to cool the
batteries.
Cruise
During cruise the batteries are not discharged, however, battery heat is rejected until the batteries attain the initial
temperature. The cruise mission point was divided into two segments. During the beginning of cruise, the Bat RCC
rejects 11.1 kW of heat. During remainder of cruise, the ESC&D system is inactive.
Ram Air Cooling Flow

Previously [1], the ram flow sometimes remained on even when the ESC&D was off (e.g. during cruise). This
incurred a small fuel penalty for drag and motor operation, but the penalty was not large enough to affect the
solution. In this investigation, measures were taken to turn off the ram fan motor and to reduce ram air flow during
mission points when the ESC&D is inactive.
FOC Bypass
A virtual bypass around the Fuel Oil Cooler (FOC) avoids overheating fuel during low fuel flow such as
GT Taxi Out.
Coolant Properties
More accurate correlations for the viscosity of the propylene glycol – water mixture at high temperature were
implemented. This was necessitated by the motor drive operating at higher temperature.
Ram Air Fan Motor Efficiency

Previously [1] the ram air fan motor efficiency assumed the value of 0.85 for all mission points and operating
conditions. It was updated to operate at a maximum value of 92% when fully loaded. The efficiency degrades at part
load.
Changes to Constraints
Several constraints were added as discussed below.
-Set coolant flow to a constant rate to simplify balance of plant by eliminating the need for variable speed control.
 Battery Cooling Loop Maximum Flow = 25.7 lbm/s above 20,000, otherwise 0.001 lbm/s
 Motor Drive Cooling Loop Maximum Flow = 25.7 lbm/s during electric assist, otherwise 0.001 lbm/s
Setting a low coolant flow when the ECS&D is not in use avoids parasitic power consumption.
-Constrained battery coolant temperature to ramp down from 30°C at 20 kft to 0°C at end of early cruise.
-Turned off ram air flow when ECS&D not in use to avoid small parasitic power consumption. (Set to small value)
 Ram air flow = 0.01 kg/s = 0.022 lbm/s during cruise and descent
-Constrained heat exchanger maximum temperatures in order to ensure aluminum material selection..
 HX Temperature – AOC ≤ 305 °F
 HX Temperature – FOC ≤ 300 °F
 HX Temperature – Bat RCC ≤ 150 °F
 HX Temperature – MD RCC ≤ 160 °F
Objective function
The objective function minimizes fuel consumption incurred by the operation (overcoming ram drag and TMS
component power consumption) and transport (TMS weight) of TMS equipment.
The coolant pumps and ram fan are driven by electric motors. The fuel burn of electric loads is calculated with
the same cost as shaft power extraction further penalized for the efficiencies of the generator and electric system
distribution.
Both ram air and fan air are assumed to be scooped from the ambient air (ram air) and the fan duct (fan air) and
returned in a manner that recovers thrust. The ram and fan air penalty factors reflect this assumption.
D. Mission Definition
Table 1 presents the mission points and their values of altitude, Mach number and duration. It furthermore lists
the temperatures and pressures of engine fan air, ram air, and fuel including fuel flow by mission point.
During mission point 5 (Takeoff Climb), the ram air stagnation temperature (114°F) exceeds the temperature
associated with premature battery aging (113°F), so during this study the batteries are allowed to heat up (thermal
storage) on hot days at low to medium altitude until the ambient heat sink is cooler.
Table 1. Mission Points
Ram Ram Fuel

Fan Fan
Alti- Amb Amb Air Air Fuel Fuel Flow
Nr Mission Point Mach Length Air Air
tude T P TT TP T P per
T P
Engine
ft - min °F psia °F psia °F psi °F psi lb/s

1 Elec Taxi Out 0 0.03 4 103.0 14.7 106.7 14.9 103.1 14.7 103 25 0
2 GT Taxi Out 0 0.03 5 103.0 14.7 106.7 14.9 103.1 14.7 103 25 0.12
3 Sea Level Static 0 0.00 0.1 103.0 14.7 145.8 14.9 103.0 14.7 103 29 1.04
4 Takeoff 0 0.25 0.5 103.0 14.7 151.0 19.4 110.2 14.9 103 29 1.04
5 Takeoff Climb 1500 0.39 1.0 97.2 13.9 152.6 19.2 114.0 14.3 103 29 1.03
6 Initial Climb 8000 0.44 3.3 71.8 10.9 128.8 15.4 92.0 12.4 103 29 0.71
7 Mid-Climb 20000 0.55 4.6 25.5 6.8 96.4 10.8 54.5 7.2 103 29 0.60
8 Top of Climb 37000 0.74 21.3 -43.6 2.9 52.9 5.5 1.9 3.2 103 29 0.36
9 Early Cruise 37000 0.74 26.6 -43.6 2.9 41.0 5.1 1.9 3.2 94 29 0.31
10 End Cruise 37000 0.74 56.2 -43.6 2.9 41.0 5.1 1.9 3.2 74 29 0.31
11 Mid-Descent 20000 0.55 12.5 25.5 6.8 58.9 8.5 54.5 7.2 74 25 0.13
12 Approach 1500 0.39 13.7 97.2 13.9 103.9 14.5 114.0 14.3 74 25 0.11
13 End Approach 0 0.00 4.8 103.0 14.7 118.7 15.3 103.0 14.7 74 25 0.29
14 Elec Taxi In 0 0.00 5 103.0 14.7 106.7 14.9 103.0 14.7 74 25 0
E. Thermal Loads
The following assumptions underlie the analysis:

 The TMS consists of point heat loads including a High Spool Starter Generator (HSSG), a Low Spool
Motor (LSM), Fan Drive System (DS), Motor Drive (MD), Batteries (Bat), Engine Bearings (Brg), and
Accessory Gearbox (Gbx).
 Engine hot section thermal loads are not included in this analysis (e.g. blade-cooling).
 Pneumatic system thermal loads (precooler, inert gas cooler, etc.) are not included in the HEP TMS.
 Electric loads are sourced from HSSG when the gas turbine propulsors are in operation; otherwise
during electric taxi, the batteries provide electric power. The battery heat loads result from propulsion
and hotel loads such as avionics, lighting, passenger service, etc. During electric taxi, batteries also
cover ECS operation.
 The HSSG is not used for electric boost; rather only the LSM assists engine operation.
 During operation, the ESC&D system simultaneously adds power to the low spool electrically while the
HSSG extracts power to generate electricity.
 Hotel electric loads normally covered by the HSSG are covered by batteries during electric taxi.
Table 2 provides the hot day thermal loads per engine. The batteries reject no heat until the aircraft reaches
20,000 ft, at which point the entire battery heat load is rejected to ambient air. This is the sizing point for the battery
ram coolant cooler. As the aircraft ascents during top of climb, the ram air temperature decreases, allowing the
battery to reject not only the generated heat load (47.2 kW) but also some stored heat (21.6 kW). The remainder of
the stored heat is rejected during the early cruise mission phase.
Engine heat loads consisting of Fan DS, Brg, and Gbx were aggregated into one column. All parasitic losses are
attributed to the bearings (no windage losses), which constitute the largest TMS heat load.
Table 2. Hot Day Thermal Loads per Engine

Motor
Nr Mission Point HSSG LSM Bat Engine
Drive
kW kW kW kW kW
1 Elec Taxi Out 0.0 57.2 34.3 51.8 76.5
2 GT Taxi Out 16.0 0 0 0.0 76.5
3 Sea Level Static 33.2 45.7 89.5 120.2 238.1
4 Takeoff 33.2 45.7 89.5 120.2 238.1
5 Takeoff Climb 22.8 47.2 87.4 117.2 239.5
6 Init Climb 8kft 28.1 59.9 60.5 81.2 199.3
7 Mid Climb 20kft 28.1 59.9 60.5 81.2 199.3
8 Top of Climb 28.1 57.6 35.2 68.8 171.1
9 Early Cruise 30.9 0 0 10.9 148.9
10 End Cruise 30.9 0 0 0 148.9
11 Mid Descent 17.8 0 0 0 76.9
12 Approach 17.8 0 0 0 64.5
13 End Approach 13.5 0 0 0 112.1
14 Elec Taxi In 0.0 57.2 34.3 0 76.5
IV. Results
The model has been executed in the REHEATS environment over the entire mission. A subset of mission points
serve to design the TMS including GT Taxi Out, Sea Level Static, Takeoff, Mid-Climb (20 kft), and Cruise. After
the design sizing step, the performance of the designed TMS is determined for the remaining mission points. Table 3
presents highlights of the results and compares them with the previous effort [1]. The major TMS components, heat
exchangers, ram fan and ram fan motor are shown. The weight of pumps, plumbing and ducts can be approximated
by multiplying the TMS weight in Table 3 by ~1.2.
The weight reduction of over almost 400 lbs. is mainly due to RCC mass reduction resulting from the separation
of the Bat and MD into separate cooling loops and thermal storage. The MD runs hotter, and the Bat no longer
rejects heat on ground. Of the component mass in the updated case, approximately half is from the ram air fan and
motor as can be seen below in Figure 5 in the component table on the right. The large weight of the ram fan and
motor stems from the large mass flow and extrapolations of performance of smaller fans used in parametric sizing.
The FOC weight decreases primarily due to different material (aluminum instead of Inconel®).
The ram fan motor weight and ram air flow decrease due to the new method of operation in which the Bat no
longer rejects heat on ground and the MD rejects heat at higher temperature. In both cases, the dT is higher so the
heat exchangers are lighter.
Table 3. Results Highlights and Comparison - per engine

TMS Ram Max Max Max
Ram
Compo- RCC AOC FOC Fan Ram Ram Fan
Component: Fan
nent Mass Mass Mass Motor Fan Air Air
Mass
Mass Mass Power Flow Flow
lbm lbm lbm lbm lbm kW lbm/s lbm/s
Baseline [1] 607 358 44 11 103 91 30† 34# 11‡
Alternative 214.1 68* 37 5.5 34 69 17† 9# 11‡

*
combined Bat and MD RCCs †
SLS ‡Takeoff #
1.5 kft
The fuel consumption of the HEP TMS components is 24.5 lbm per engine over the complete mission. Figure 2
presents a breakdown of fuel consumption due to the various fuel loads associated with the TMS. Most fuel is
consumed to provide cooling air. Approximately 37% is due to fan drag to cool engine loads rejected to the AOC
(Brg, FanDS, Gbx, HSSG, LSM); 36% is due to ram drag for electric drive components (Bat and MD); 2% is due to
shaft power (pumps and fan motor); and 26% is due to transporting the weight of the TMS throughout the mission.
Figure 2. Fraction of fuel burn by load type over complete mission

Figure 3 presents a breakdown of fuel consumption for each mission point due to the TMS. Throughout the
mission, approximately 9.0 lbm is due to fan drag; 8.7 lbm is due to ram drag; 0.5 lbm is due to shaft power (pumps
and fan motor); and 6.3 lbm is due to transporting the weight of the TMS. On the ground, there are no weight or ram
air drag penalties. The 4 longest mission phases (20 kft, TOC, Early Cruise, End Cruise) account for the majority of
fuel burn. The largest fuel burn is for fan air to cool engine loads (Brg, FanDS, Gbx, HSSG). Ram air to cool the Bat
and MD is the second largest fuel burn. During End Cruise, there is no ram air fuel burn because the electric drive
system (Bat, MD) is inactive.
The baseline conventional aircraft consumes approximately 6,600 lbs of fuel, thus the TMS imposes a fuel
consumption penalty of approximately 0.74% for a twin engine aircraft.
Figure 3. Fuel burn breakdown by mission point – per engine.
Figure 5 and onward present results by mission point. They depict the layout with a table of operational
parameters. The layouts show conduits of various colors that correspond to temperatures as shown in Figure 4
below. Line widths indicate flow rate according to the legend in in Figure 4. The tables to the right of the layouts are
divided into two halves: on the left, colorful labels indicate temperature of flows according to the legend in Figure 4
whereas black backgrounds represent components.
Figure 4. Legend for System Layout Figures.

The model optimized the TMS component sizes for minimal fuel consumption resulting in a TMS with
parameters that are provided in the figures below. Some general observations of the TMS follow:
 The AOC and FOC have negative values for heat transfer rates; this is only a matter of perspective in
direction of heat transfer.
 The AOC transfers well over twice the heat load (246.8.6 kW during takeoff) of the next largest heat
exchanger, MD RCC (89.5 kW during SLS and takeoff), but it weighs only 21% more. The AOC is
relatively compact because liquid heat sources generally have better heat transfer properties than gases.
In contrast, the MD RCC exchanges heat between gases with a low difference in temperature; this
requires large surface area for heat exchange recalling that Q = UAΔT.
 The maximum oil temperature is consistently at exit of largest heat load (Brg). A high oil temperature
allows fuel to operate near or at its maximum temperature which seeks to avoid the penalty of using fan
air in the AOC.
 The oil flow rates through heat load components vary as does ram air, however, coolant flow is fixed.
 When the aircraft is in motion, the ram air shows some temperature increase across the scoop due to as
expected due to the conversion of kinetic energy to internal energy.
 The MD RCC typically operates with a hot side temperature difference of 3 to 4°F when the ECS&D is
in operation. The Bat RCC also has a small hot side ΔT of less than 3°F.
 Fuel never reaches its upper temperature limit of 275°F, but comes close 271°F during Climb (10kft and
end of cruise).
A. Taxi Out - Electric
Although the core combustor is off, the TMS must reject engine heat loads from LSM, Brg, and Fan DS. No fuel
flows, so all heat from the oil loop is rejected by the AOC. The engine oil warms up Brg even during E-taxi, which
is important prior to takeoff.
Batteries do not reject heat, but rather store it.
Figure 5. TMS at Electric Taxi Out.
B. Taxi Out – Gas Turbine
The AOC heat load is lower due to lack of LSM heat source.
The ESC&D is inactive. No coolant flows. Neither does ram air.
Fuel flow is low, but fuel temperature is not at maximum limit. Rather it approaches the temperature of oil out of
engine.
Figure 6. TMS at Gas Turbine Taxi Out.
10
C. Sea Level Static
Figure 7 shows results at Sea Level Static conditions.
Ram air shows no temperature change across the scoop as expected.
The ram fan motor is sized at this mission point. It operates at maximum load.
The oil temperature reaches its maximum limit at the Brg exit, however, the fuel temperature does not reach its
maximum because of high fuel flow.
The AOC has a high heat load during this mission point (over 230 kW).
This mission point has no battery cooling, but the MD is cooled. The MD RCC heat load is highest here and
during takeoff. The MD operates at its maximum temperature.
Figure 7. TMS at Sea Level Static conditions.
11
D. Takeoff
At this mission point, oil reaches the maximum temperature limit at Brg outlet.
The AOC has the highest heat load (almost 250 kW) of mission.
Fuel temperature does not reach maximum value due to high flow. The oil temp is at max fuel temp limit.
There is no battery cooling, but the MD is cooled. The MD RCC heat load is highest here and during SLS. The Ram
Fan Motor is on.
Figure 8. TMS at Takeoff.
12
E. Takeoff Climb
The FOC has its highest heat load of the mission here (88.9 kW).
Oil temperature reaches its maximum limit at the exit of Brg, HSSG.
Fuel temperature does not reach maximum limit.
Ram air stagnation temperature equals maximum desired battery temperature, so cooling is not possible.
Ram fan power is shown as negative; power could be generated if the aircraft were to be so equipped.
Figure 9. TMS at Climb Out (Takeoff Climb).
13
F. Initial Climb (8,000 ft)
Oil reaches maximum temperature limit at Brg outlet.
Ram fan motor could generate power.
The MD is at its maximum operating temperature limit.
Figure 10. TMS at Initial Climb (8,000 ft).
14
G. Mid-Climb (20,000 ft)
Oil temperature approaches its maximum limit at the exit of Brg.
Battery cooling begins. All generated heat is rejected. This is the sizing point for the Bat RCC HX.
Ram Fan Motor is off.
Figure 11. TMS at Mid-Climb (20,000 ft).
15
H. Top of Climb
Oil reaches maximum temperature limit at outlet of Brg.
Bat RCC rejects heat that is generated as well as some stored heat.
It is possible to generate power with ram fan motor (negative power) if properly equipped.
Figure 12. TMS at End Climb (37,000 ft).
16
I. Early Cruise
Oil reaches the maximum temperature limit at Brg outlet.
Fuel temperature approaches the maximum limit.
The Ram Fan Motor is off; the heat sink is cold.
Batteries reject heat.
Figure 13. TMS at Early Cruise.
17
J. End Cruise
The End Cruise mission point is the longest mission point. As such, low weight is encouraged to improve aircraft
fuel consumption.
Oil reaches the maximum temperature limit at outlet of Brg.
Fuel temperature approaches the maximum limit.
Ram Fan Motor is off; there is no cooling of batteries.
Figure 14. TMS at End Cruise.
18
K. Mid-Descent (20,00 ft)
Neither fuel nor oil approach the maximum limits.
Figure 15. TMS at Mid-Descent (20,000 ft).
19
L. Approach
Oil reaches the maximum temperature limit at Brg, HSSG, and Gbx outlets.
Fuel temperature does not reach the maximum limit.
Ram Fan Motor is off.
Ram air stagnation temperature (point 28) equals battery maximum temperature limit.
Figure 16. TMS at Approach (1,500 ft).
20
M. End of Approach (0 ft)
Neither oil nor fuel approach their respective maximum temperature limits
Figure 17. TMS at End of Approach (0 ft).
21
N. Electric Taxi In – (0 ft)
No fuel flows.
Oil does not reach maximum temperature limit anywhere.
Ram fan motor is on at part load for MD. MD operates at temperature limit.
No battery cooling takes place.
Figure 18. TMS during Electric Taxi In.
V. Summary and Conclusions

The analysis of an updated TMS has been completed. The TMS features thermal energy storage in batteries and
separate cooling loops for the MD and batteries. The TMS model accounts for the heat loads from the batteries but
not the weight of the batteries. The TMS was sized by simultaneously optimizing system fuel consumption during 5
mission points on a hot day: gas turbine taxi out, sea level static, takeoff, initial climb (20,000 ft), and cruise
(37,000 ft). The solution predicts weight of major components to be 214.1 lbs. per engine, about half of which is due
to the ram air fan and motor. The TMS model was executed over the entire mission. Electric taxi segments both out
and in were included in the updated mission.
Changes to layout and operation reduced RCC HX size, ram fan size, TMS weight, and fuel burn. TMS
component weight drastically decreased (batteries excluded) mainly due to the weight decrease of the RCCs.
Separate cooling loops allow higher temperature MD operation. Thermal storage in batteries changed sizing point to
an altitude where the ram air is cooler. The RCCs decreased in size to one fifth of the previous RCC weight which
was one heat exchanger that served the batteries and motor drive on the ground. Bypassing flow around the ram air
fan allowed the fan and motor to decrease weight by approximately half of the original value. The fuel consumption
due to the ESC&D system is approximately 24.5 lbs of fuel per engine, which is amounts to roughly 0.74% of the
fuel burn of a typical mission.
22
Acknowledgments
The material provided in this document is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration under Contract Number NNC14CA32C.
The authors thank colleagues Joseph Turney and Steven Taylor for their contributions to this effort.
Disclaimer
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
VI. References
[1] Rheaume, J. and Lents, C. E., “Design and Simulation of a Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft Thermal Management
System”, 2018 AIAA/IEEE Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium, Cincinnati, OH, July 12-13, 2018.
[2] Lents, C. E., Hardin, L.W., Rheaume, J.M, and Kohlman, L., "Parallel Hybrid Gas-Electric Geared Turbofan Engine
Conceptual Design and Benefits Analysis," 52nd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Salt Lake City, 2016, p.
4610.
[3] Lents, C. E., "Hybrid Electric Geared Turbofan Propulsion System Conceptual Design", Annual Interim Report Y1 Prepared
for NASA Glenn Research Center under Contract NNC14CA32C, September 26, 2015.
[4] Lents, C. E., "Hybrid Electric Geared Turbofan Propulsion System Conceptual Design", Annual Interim Report Y2 Prepared
for NASA Glenn Research Center under Contract NNC14CA32C, September 26, 2016.
[5] Rheaume, J. M., Lents, C. E., “Energy Storage for Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft”, No. 2016-01-2014, SAE Technical
Paper, 2016.
[6] Lents, C. E. Rheaume, J. M. MacDonald, M., "Thermal Regulation of Batteries", US Provisional Patent Application
62/821,297, filed 3/20/2019.
23

Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft Thermal Management System Design, Simulation, and Operation Improvements

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Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft Thermal Management System Design, Simulation, and Operation Improvements

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AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum 10.2514/6.

Commercial Hybrid Electric Aircraft Thermal Management

Jonathan M. Rheaume*, Malcolm Macdonald†, and Charles E. Lents‡

AOC = Air Oil Cooler HEP = Hybrid Electric Propulsion

A. Selected Alternative TMS Architecture

B. Selected Alternative Operating Procedure

C. Selected Alternative Model Updates

Ram Air Cooling Flow

Ram Air Fan Motor Efficiency

Table 1. Mission Points

Ram Ram Fuel

ft - min °F psia °F psia °F psi °F psi lb/s

The following assumptions underlie the analysis:

Table 2. Hot Day Thermal Loads per Engine

Table 3. Results Highlights and Comparison - per engine

Baseline [1] 607 358 44 11 103 91 30† 34# 11‡

Alternative 214.1 68* 37 5.5 34 69 17† 9# 11‡

Figure 2. Fraction of fuel burn by load type over complete mission

Figure 3. Fuel burn breakdown by mission point – per engine.

Figure 4. Legend for System Layout Figures.

Figure 5. TMS at Electric Taxi Out.

Figure 6. TMS at Gas Turbine Taxi Out.

Figure 7. TMS at Sea Level Static conditions.

Figure 8. TMS at Takeoff.

Figure 9. TMS at Climb Out (Takeoff Climb).

Figure 10. TMS at Initial Climb (8,000 ft).

Figure 11. TMS at Mid-Climb (20,000 ft).

Figure 12. TMS at End Climb (37,000 ft).

Figure 13. TMS at Early Cruise.

Figure 14. TMS at End Cruise.

Figure 15. TMS at Mid-Descent (20,000 ft).

Figure 16. TMS at Approach (1,500 ft).

Figure 17. TMS at End of Approach (0 ft).

Figure 18. TMS during Electric Taxi In.

V. Summary and Conclusions

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