i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 6 ( 2 0 2 1 ) 1 6 4 5 3 e1 6 4 6 4

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he

Architecture design and performance analysis of a

hybrid hydrogen fuel cell system for unmanned
aerial vehicle

Emre Ozbek a,*, Gorkem Yalin b, Mustafa Umut Karaoglan c, Selcuk Ekici d,
C. Ozgur Colpan c, T. Hikmet Karakoc e
a
UAV Technology and Operations Program, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, TR-26000, Turkey
b
School of Civil Aviation, Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Erzincan, TR-24000, Turkey
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, TR-35397, Turkey
d
Department of Aviation, Igdir University, Igdir, TR-76000, Turkey
e
Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, TR-26000, Turkey

highlights

A PEMFC e Li-Po battery hybrid system was developed evaluating architecture models.

Experimental data were used on the propulsion tests for a hybrid PEMFC based UAV.

Testing procedures for a hybrid PEMFC based fixed-wing mini UAV were explained.

article info abstract

Article history: The flight endurance of UAV systems is an important issue that restricts the operational
Received 16 September 2020 capabilities. Thus, different energy systems and alternative onboard energy generation
Received in revised form systems have been tested for the UAVs. Within these systems, fuel cells provide high
28 December 2020 energy density that can increase flight endurance greatly. In this study, a PEM fuel cell e Li-
Accepted 30 December 2020 Po battery hybrid system has been developed by evaluating three architecture models. In
Available online 22 January 2021 the guide of the experimental power demand data of a fixed-wing UAV, modeling and
testing procedures were performed. Battery voltage and fuel cell current variations
Keywords: observed during the ground tests were evaluated. It has been observed that approximately
Unmanned aerial vehicle 160e170 W of the 250 W power is met by the fuel cell since no preconditioning has been
Unmanned aerial systems applied and the temperature values at which the fuel cell exhibits its optimum perfor-
Fuel cell mance. In the case where the fuel cell could provide 7.8 An under conditions where the
Hydrogen humidification effects were not included in the model, the required current was over 7.8 A
Hybrid propulsion between approximately 400-1200 s. The fuel cell and battery behavior in response to the
sudden power changes and to the uncertainties corresponding to the changes in the motor
power during the flight are also detailed.
© 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: emreozbek@eskisehir.edu.tr (E. Ozbek).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.12.216
0360-3199/© 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
16454 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 6 ( 2 0 2 1 ) 1 6 4 5 3 e1 6 4 6 4
Introduction
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been drawing great
attention due to their availability and operational costs
throughout the world for about two decades. UAVs have been
a great tool for reconnaissance missions because of their su-
periorities for these operations over manned aircraft [1]. UAV
platforms have been used for air-based ground reconnais-
sance tasks and operations [2]. Forest fire management is
another topic the UAVs excel with their feasible operational
costs [3]. With UAVs, it is possible to follow a path with high
precision even though there are some mission uncertainties
such as wind direction and magnitude. There are studies in
the literature that shows that these uncertainties could be
eliminated with advanced techniques developed for UAV
flight control computers [4]. Air-based ground reconnaissance
operations usually require flight over a specific area for long
periods which manned aircraft usually cannot perform
feasibly due to human factors related to pilot [5]. In addition,
operational costs such as fuel, oil, and material lifespan make
UAVs a better option for such tasks overall [6]. The charac-
teristics of an air reconnaissance operation may need to
require a wide area to be covered. For these operations, UAVs
can also offer formation flights or fleet automation that are
being worked on by various researchers [7]. Such coordinated
UAV missions are very beneficial in critical cases such as
search and rescue missions which the area should be covered
in a critical period [8]. Several models have been worked on for
these search mission algorithms [9,10]. A UAV platform must
have high flight endurance and range to cover enough area for
reconnaissance missions. Fixed-wing platforms have been
more acceptable for long endurance missions due to their
glide ratio which increases the operation time [11].
The flight time could be increased with the most common
three methods solely or combined:
i. aircraft-design with low drag coefficients using
morphing wing technologies [12], winglet designs [13] or
blended wing-body designs [14].
ii. providing higher energy capacity using the latest energy
storage technologies such as lithium-based batteries,
and supercapacitors [15].
iii. onboard alternative energy generation with solar panels
on wings [16], and fuel cells [17].
As mentioned, these methods could be combined to in-
crease the efficiency. Systems that combine different power
sources are called hybrid power systems [18]. Hybrid systems
Table 1 e Summary of literature survey on the fuel cell based hybrid power systems for UAVs.
Study Fuel Cell Type
Dudek et al., 2013 [34] PEM Fuel Cell 250 W
Zhang et al., 2018 [35] EOS 600 PEM Fuel Cell
Mobariz et al., 2015 [36] Concept PEM Fuel Cell
Chiang et al., 2008 [37] PEM Fuel Cell 150 W
Gong et al., 2018 [29] PEM Fuel Cell 150 W
Savvaris et al., 2016 [38] PEM Fuel Cell 500 W
Bayrak et al., 2020 [39] PEM Fuel Cell 200 W
provide flight time increases and emissions reduction by
using more electricity on aircraft propulsion and subsystems
[19]. This paper introduces a PEM fuel cell e Li-Po hybrid
system which combines methods (ii) and (iii). Fuel cells are an
important onboard energy generation system being imple-
mented on UAVs. Fuel cell, which has a simple operating
principle and has some points similar to batteries, is a device
that converts the chemical energy of the fuel into direct cur-
rent electricity (DC) through electrochemical processes
without any moving parts [20e22].
The usage of combined energy sources such as Li-Po and
Fuel Cells in a hybridization method requires a powertrain
architecture. Different powertrain architectures have been
designed by researchers. For example, in the study by Gon-
zales et al. [23], they used a basic energy management strat-
egy, and found the energy requirement of an unmanned
ground vehicle based on six Li-Po cells, which are connected
in series, and a 200 W PEM fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack is
connected in parallel to the battery in this study without any
limitation to its charge. In more complex systems, incre-
mental fuzzy logic energy management strategies have been
applied. A concept called variable structure battery scheme
has been proposed to enhance the hybrid power system with
an incremental fuzzy logic method. This architecture has
been developed by considering the efficiency and the power
change rate of fuel cells to balance the power system load [24].
Fuzzy State Machines (FMS) have also been applied to energy
management strategies for a system that contains photovol-
taic, fuel cell, and battery power sources. The FSM strategy
couples the fuzzy logical strategy with a state machine strat-
egy to perform the required power flow between the system
components [25].
Modeling and running simulations are a crucial part in
designing hybridized powertrains that uses PEM fuel cell and
other energy resources for systems such as unmanned aerial
vehicles which have variable power demands during the flight
phases [26e28]. Hardware in the loop (HIL) flight simulation
has been used extensively in these studies as a useful
demonstration tool [29,30].
Concerns, issues, potentialities, and opportunities of fuel
cell implementation on aerospace vehicles can be marked by
the following points: i) being more efficient than energy con-
version systems using fossil resources, ii) having the prudent
limit of endurance offered by the high energy content, iii)
having operational variability with the ability to meet various
energy needs, iv) having negligible vibration and noise levels,
v) inducing fewer pollutants than various sources, vi) needing
qualified personnel for process management, vii) having
Battery Type Validation with Flight Test
Li-Po Battery þ
Li-Po Battery e
Li-Ion Battery e
Li-Po Battery þ
Li-Po Battery and Supercapacitor e
Li-Po Battery e
Li-Ion, Ni-Mh Battery Comparison e
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Fig. 1 e Testbed UAV platform.

safety issues due to hydrogen, viii) providing reliability with
few assembly parts, ix) utilizing high-cost precious materials
such as platinum and, x) difficulty in access to hydrogen
[31e33].
A literature survey has been performed to select the hy-
bridization methods to be used in the study. Studies which
include fuel cell based hybrid power systems and demon-
strator UAVs have been selected for the survey. Table 1 pro-
vides the gathered data from the survey.
In this study, the conversion of an existing electric sail-
plane design to a hybrid fuel cell Li-Po UAV was performed
through modeling, simulation, and ground tests. The model
and simulation outcomes of a PEM fuel cell e Li-Po battery
hybrid system developed by evaluating three architectural
models are presented comparatively and the performance of
the hybrid system is tested independently of the power profile
corresponding to a specific flight profile. In addition, the paper
presents a methodology of testing to understand the power
consumption characteristics of the UAV that future re-
searches on FC/PV integration may benefit from.
Empirical methods to assess the power consumption
The description of the testbed UAV platform, UAV power
consumption tests, static thrust tests using sole battery power
and UAV flight test on sole battery power were performed and
explained for the first task.
Testbed UAV platform
A mini battery-only UAV called Hydra which was designed by
Eskisehir Technical University’s research team (namely Ana-
tolia Aero Design) was used as the testbed for this project. This
UAV was designed like a sailplane and can fly with a low
power consumption [40]. The Hydra mini UAV has approxi-
mately 6 kg of taking off weight and has a 3 m wingspan
(Fig. 1). Hydra can fly for 45 min with the 7S 4000 mAh Li-Po,
which is the only energy source. The Hydra uses a Tiger U-7
motor, which is a brushless DC motor with a peak power of
660W. The design goal of the aircraft was to successfully
integrate the fuel cell in it and to increase the endurance up to
5 h.

UAV power consumption tests

Method
A multi-step procedure consists of two main tasks. The first
task was the understanding the power consumption charac-
teristics of the UAV’s sub-systems during all flight phases. The
second task was to select the suitable hybrid power system
architecture for the current scenario.
A two-phase testing procedure was followed to perform the
required tests for this study repeatedly. These tests were
performed in an order which aims to understand the UAV
platform’s power demand, design the hybridization architec-
ture, perform the ground test with the hybrid fuel cell system
and finally perform the hybrid fuel cell flight test as the future
work.

Table 2 e Static thrust test results.

50% Throttle

Current (A) Thrust (g) Power(W)

3.26 974 84.4

75% Throttle

Current (A) Thrust (g) Power(W)

11.05 2282 286.1

100% Throttle

Current (A) Thrust (g) Power(W) Fig. 2 e Flight test synchronized image from wattmeter and
23 3680 595.7
UAV state.
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Fig. 3 e Hybrid system architecture for Scenario 1.

Fig. 4 e Hybrid system architecture for Scenario 2.

Fig. 5 e Hybrid system architecture for Scenario 3.

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Flight test on sole battery energy. Through the knowledge of

Table 3 e Battery selection process.
the thrust force that the motor can generate, the second test
Description Quantity Unit was performed which is the flight test with battery. The flight
Number of fuel cell conditionings per 6 has been performed with a wattmeter in the UAV fuselage
minute which is recorded by a camera during the flight test. Then, the
Time elapsed in each conditioning 0.1 s videos of flight and wattmeter have been superimposed on
Number of conditioning per hour 360
one video to read the data of the power consumption on each
Power value provided by the fuel cell in 200 W
cruise flight (55% throttle)
phase and the attitude during the flight envelope (Fig. 2). The
The amount of hydrogen consumed at 3.8 L flight test was performed in Eskisehir that has 1.193 kg/m3 air
maximum power density at 12  C and 2 m/s wind speed.
The energy capacity of the hydrogen tube 336 Wh Selection of the convenient one between the three
at 150 bar pressure described scenarios for the hybrid system architecture, the
The duration at which the battery capacity 3.36 h
battery selection process and the system modeling and
should be sufficient (flight time x 2)
simulation study was performed to combine the testbed UAV
The total amount of energy consumed for 11.76 Wh
conditioning (during the projected with the PEM Fuel Cell e Li-Po hybrid system. Thus, these
flight) steps were performed and described to fulfill the second task.
Takeoff time 30 s
The required power for take-off (100% 600 W Hybrid system architecture evaluation
throttle)
Time spent climbing (cruising altitude 2 m
The real-time flight data harvested from the flight video
100 m)
showed that a hybrid fuel cell system is required for the fuel
The amount of power required for 286 W
climbing (75% Throttle) cell flight because of the high power consumption required
The calculated Li-Po battery capacity during the takeoff and climb phases of flight. For the hybrid
(during the entire flight) system architecture, 3 scenarios were evaluated as discussed
The power supplied by the Li-Po battery 26.29 Wh below. In all of these scenarios, Aerostak A- 250 (Ultralight
(Climb, take off and conditioning) 250W PEM Fuel Cell System) System from Horizon Technology
Battery capacity 1015 mAh
was used as the fuel cell system. The A-250 system has a
22.2e35.2 V voltage range and 0e13.5 A current range
with 720 g overall system weight.
Static thrust test on sole battery energy. The testing procedure
started with the static thrust tests of the UAV motor to un-
Scenario 1
derstand the power requirement on different throttles. A 7 cell
This is the scenario where the fuel cell can provide 330 W
4000 mAh Li-Po battery was employed in these tests as the
instantaneously and the remaining part is covered by the
sole power source. Three different propellers were combined
battery. It has also been demonstrated by the ground tests that
with the motor: 18x6.1 wooden, 18x6.1 carbon fiber, and 17x6
the power requirement, which will be only required during the
wooden. 18x6.1 carbon fiber was found as the most efficient
take-off (30 s) and for very short periods, can be met if the
one. The transmitter was used to command on the throttle
battery is fully charged and the fuel cell is conditioned before
channel. An ESC and a radio control receiver were also
the flight test. Fig. 3 depicts the architecture in Scenario 1.
included in the system. A wattmeter was integrated into the
system to read the power data. The static thrust force was
Scenario 2
recorded through a scale on the other side of the lever type
In the second scenario the output voltage of the fuel cell is
arm which has a 0.001 g precision. Two cameras were stabi-
increased, however, as in the first case, the remaining power
lized in front of both the scale and the wattmeter. These
requirement is met by the battery. In this case, the DC-DC
videos were then synchronized to write down the data. The
Buck-Boost converter fixes the fuel cell output to 28V. How-
current, thrust, and power data on %50, %75, and %100 throttle
ever, the weight of the controller (around 250 g) will create an
arms were then gathered as presented in Table 2.

Fig. 6 e Simulation model.

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Fig. 7 e Energy management model developed in MatLab-Simulink.
extra weight for the aircraft. It is also undesirable if it causes a
power loss of around 20%. For this reason, the second scenario
presented in Fig. 4 is considered as not appropriate.
Scenario 3
The third scenario is designed with the selection of the 7S Li-
Po battery required for the fuel cell humidification procedure,
with a low-density battery that will only meet the required
power during short circuits (Fig. 5). Later, 6S Li-Po battery and
charging units were added to the system to meet the required
peak load requirements. This situation has its advantages and
disadvantages. The 6S Li-Po battery and charger will add
additional weight. However, it is known that with a lower
power density, the 7S Li-Po battery will be lighter compared to
the first two scenarios. The third scenario is worth modeling
and testing as the dynamics of the hybrid system are related
to the flight profile. However, the additional weight to the UAV
takeoff weight increases the power demand on the flight. Due
to this disadvantage, the third scenario was less applicable
than the first scenario.
Considering the three scenarios discussed above, the first
scenario is selected and planned to be integrated into the
Hydra UAV in terms of time, cost, and applicability.
Selection of the battery
The fuel cell and the battery are used in parallel in the appli-
ance with the first scenario. There are two determining factors
in the selection of the battery suitable for the hybrid use. One
of them is the amount of energy required for conditioning the
fuel cell (Wh) and the other one is the amount of energy that
will be required for the use of the battery in the power
requirement of the aircraft exceeding the capacity of the fuel
cell. The conditioning procedure and rationale of the fuel cell
are discussed below. The power requirements for take-off,
climbing, and turns were determined in ground tests with a
certain margin of error. Therefore, the power profile corre-
sponding to the flight profile of the aircraft is of great impor-
tance for both modeling and battery selection. The approach
applied for the battery selection within the scope of this study
is given in Table 3.
The power requirement calculation during the condition-
ing is based on the assumption that the fuel cell is operating
at peak loads. Although it is observed that the calculated
value for real conditioning is lower, calculations have been
made within a margin of safety. Apart from these, a battery
capacity 4 times larger than the calculated battery capacity
(4400 mAh) is selected due to the variability of flight condi-
tions during the take-off, climb and maneuver stages, the
power consumed by the autopilot/RC (radio control) and
flight and control servos, and the other electrical needs, and
to eliminate the unforeseen flight conditions such as gusts
and cancelled landing.
In phases where the fuel cell is insufficient during the take-
off, climb and maneuvers, the battery is activated. For this
reason, the fuel cell, battery, and motor operating voltages
must be in compatible ranges. The fuel cell voltage range
varied between 22.2 V and 35.2 V. Li-Po batteries have also
emerged from cells connected in series, just like fuel cells.
Each of the battery cells has an average voltage of 3.7 V (4.2 V
when fully charged). Therefore, a 7 Cell Li-Po battery has a
total voltage of 25.9 V. This voltage is both compatible with the
U7 motor and within the fuel cell operating voltage range.
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Fig. 8 e Energy management algorithm flowchart.

System modelling, simulation and ground tests

The empirical results from the tests, which were performed to

Fig. 9 e Battery voltage variation with respect to SOC.
assess the power demand were useful for the selection of the
hybridization architecture scenario, and the battery. The study
then continued with the verification process. This process
consists of system modeling, simulation and ground tests.
Matlab e Simulink model was created using the fuel cell and
battery models to understand the system’s dynamic charac-
teristics. Then, the ground tests were performed to understand
the fidelity level of the modeling and simulation study.
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Fig. 10 e Battery resistance variation with respect to the
SOC.
Fig. 11 e Test setup for motor test with hybrid PEMFC
system.
Modeling and simulation of the hybrid fuel cell system
In the simulation study, experimental data were used in the
calculations regarding the power requirement, in contrast to
the motor-propeller models. Motor power, voltage, and cur-
rent values obtained from the motor thrust and flight tests
were taken as input parameters in the model. Details and
models are presented below.
The fuel cell model was created by using the values ob-
tained in the guidance of experimental data. Hydrogen con-
sumption corresponding to current flow values were
determined. The mathematical approach, which gives the
value of energy produced against fuel consumption, is
included in the model. The battery model is set based on the
characteristics of the Li-Po battery.
In the simulation model created, the required power is
included in the simulation by using the measured power
values against the motor-propeller combination. Current and
voltage values obtained from the fuel cell and battery are
employed in the model according to the power requirement of
the system (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7).
A detailed representation of the energy management al-
gorithm flowchart can be found in Fig. 8. The flowchart com-
pares the current values provided by the fuel cell and battery
with the current values that the motor needs. The mainframe
of the flow chart is based on the battery to meet the required
value for the needs over 7.8 A current value that the fuel cell
can provide, and the approach includes determining the state
of the fill and charge rates of the battery and hydrogen cyl-
inder during flight.
In addition, the logical-expressions in the flow chart are;
(i) whether the battery goes below the critical operating
voltage (23.8V),
(ii) whether the fuel cell can generate the current that could
enable the aircraft to the landing phase,
(iii) the state of the fill and charge rates (SOF) in the
hydrogen cylinder and battery (SOC).
Li-Po batteries reach their full charge level with a voltage
value of 4.2V per cell. Li-Po batteries cannot be used when they
are discharged to 3.4 V (Fig. 9). For this reason, a rule has been
set that the use of batteries above 23.8V should continue. By
demonstrating the changes in the resistance of the battery
during its usage process, the curve of the charge rate of the
battery against the change of polarization resistance has been
obtained (Fig. 10).
Ground tests with hybrid fuel cell system
Static motor tests were applied using a hybrid fuel cell system
to validate the system’s response to power demand. A 2 L
hydrogen tank (HES Carbon Fiber 2L) was used to store
hydrogen as shown in Fig. 11. The tests were performed using
the static thrust test bench previously illustrated in Section
Empirical methods to assess the power consumption.
In order to obtain information on how long the cylinder will
empty during the fuel cell’s operating period, ground tests
were carried out for about 1 h with the stored hydrogen.
Depending on the fuel cell performance (average 120 W-4 A),
time-dependent changes were observed in the gauge pressure
of the small cylinder (dropped from 120 bar to 60 bar).
Results and discussions
The results of the dynamic and static load tests on the hybrid
fuel cell system designed during the research was consistent
with the model and simulation. The performance of the
hybrid system is tested independently of the power profile
corresponding to a particular flight profile. It is known that the
motor will not perform under the static loads during the flight.
For this reason, it is necessary to observe the system response
corresponding to the sudden load changes and also to deter-
mine the battery performance. Considering that the entire
flight will be completed with a single battery as a secondary
energy source, predicting the charge-discharge status of the
battery under dynamic loads will facilitate an effective flight
profile design. However, it is necessary to fly within safe limits
and to ensure that the aircraft is safely landed with the cur-
rent occupancy rate of the battery, without requiring the
aerodynamic performance of the aircraft, if any unusual sit-
uation is observed.
The charts provided in Fig. 12aec show the change of
power and voltage for the load, fuel cell and battery, respec-
tively with time. Thus, the effect of hybrid system perfor-
mance on the system components has been demonstrated.
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Fig. 12 e (a) Time-dependent power-voltage graph of the load, (b) Time-dependent power-voltage graph of the fuel cell, (c)
Time-dependent power-voltage graph of the battery.

Fig. 13 e Experimental and simulation battery voltage variation.

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Fig. 14 e Experimental and simulation fuel cell current variation.
Fuel cell performance is known to directly affect aircraft per-
formance. It is one of the original aspects of the study that
both the occupancy state of the battery and the behavior of the
fuel cell at peak loads are known in advance. There was no
preconditioning during the test. It is seen that the nominal
power value of the fuel cell, 250 W, is not exceeded during the
test. It has been tried to increase the value of 250 W gradually.
It has been observed that approximately 160e170 W of the
250 W power is met by the fuel cell since no preconditioning
has been applied and the temperature values at which the fuel
cell exhibits its optimum performance. It is seen that the
power obtained from the battery in the same time period is
around 100 W.
It is seen from both experimental results and the data ob-
tained from the model that the change in battery voltage
(Fig. 13) decreases to 100 mV/min depending on the time when
it has a similar character. The decline between 600 and 1200 s
indicates that the required power is insufficient to meet by the
sole fuel cell. By recording the trend of change in voltage
during flight and making sense of it on the model, it will
ensure that the change in battery voltage is predicted and
calculated together with the amount of hydrogen in the cyl-
inder and the amount of hydrogen in the air for future studies.
The battery voltage change curve was created with a 3.5%
error.
In the experimental data, it has been seen that the fuel cell
can provide a current value of 7.8 A. Therefore, it is known
that the battery will come into work in requirements
exceeding 7.8 A. In the case where the fuel cell could provide
7.8 An under conditions where the humidification effects were
not included in the model, the required current was over 7.8 A
between approximately 400-1200 s (Fig. 14).
The simulation results are intended to demonstrate how
the current values must be provided to the motor in response
to the power requirement of the aircraft. Response to the
variability has been evaluated during the simulation. The
outputs of the simulation are the state of charge of the battery
(SOC) and, the state of fuel of the hydrogen cylinder (SOF) with
respect to current values that the hybrid fuel cell system can
provide. Thus, it is possible, with the current power system
that, the flight duration could be predicted for the aircraft for a
predetermined mission. The current simulation was based on
the power management specified in the first hybridization
scenario where an external hybrid card is used.
Conclusions
In the study, the hybrid hydrogen fuel cell system with a Li-Po
battery was integrated with a testbed UAV. The power con-
sumption of the UAV propulsion and auxiliary systems were
determined to perform tests both on ground and air. With
these empirical results, the hybridization scenario and, the
battery selection was performed. The selected hybridization
scenario was then modeled in the Matlab e Simulink soft-
ware. Then, a ground test was performed using the PEMFC e
Li-Po powertrain designed within the study. The data taken
during the 1-h test gave important data insights to the char-
acter of the hybrid system under the static and dynamic loads.
The following list gives the remarkable conclusions of the
study:

The fuel cell should be tested for the real-time flight tests
and adequately conditioned to show its optimum perfor-
mance prior to the flight tests. It has been observed that
approximately 160e170 W of the 250 W power is met by the
fuel cell since no preconditioning has been applied.

Depending on the fuel cell performance, the temperature
change should be tested for the aircraft’s power profile.
Here, it should not be overlooked that the fuel cell system is
housed in the fuselage of the aircraft and the ambient air is
taken directly from the outside.

In order to estimate the battery charge rate, tests should be
made depending on the predicted flight profile. Otherwise,
the battery will reach its critical voltage (24.5 V) before the
task is completed.
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It is vital to make the most suitable combination for the
fuel cell battery hybrid system. Depending on the operating
conditions, the performance of the fuel cell results from its
interaction with the battery. Several parameters such as
the battery type, battery capacity, C value, operating
voltage range, operating temperature, weight, and volume
should be examined in detail to determine the most suit-
able hybrid system.

It is imperative to take safety measures against problems
that may arise during flight. It is necessary to measure the
charge rate of the battery during the flight, to determine
the battery charge that may respond to the malfunction
and/or performance loss in the fuel cell system.

Fuel cell temperature, voltage, current and pressure are the
parameters that must be measured during the flight. In
addition, the voltage, current, and temperature of the
battery must be measured and controlled. According to the
shape of the hydrogen storage system (gas hydrogen, liquid
hydrogen, a hybrid produced from different types of solu-
tions on the aircraft, etc.), it is very important to instantly
control the fuel flow and determine the remaining
hydrogen amount.

Aircraft is designed either to perform a specific task or to
create a platform for the application of new technology.
The UAV designed within the scope of this study is a
suitable platform for testing the hybrid system under at-
mospheric conditions and dynamic loads.

Before the flight tests are carried out, the hybrid system
must be tested to understand the working dynamics of the
determined hybrid system. To understand the perfor-
mance of the hybrid system, it has been observed that
repeated tests should be performed under the static and
dynamic loads. It is also necessary to understand the fuel
cell and battery behavior in response to the sudden power
changes and to the uncertainties corresponding to the
changes in the motor power during the flight.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgment
The research funded by the Eskisehir Technical University
with the project code of 19ADP162. The graduate and under-
graduate students from Anatolia Aero Design Team per-
formed the manufacture and flight-testing of the UAV.
Ibrahim Yavuz Dal contributed the project as testing pilot.
Also, Associate Prof. Levent Akyalcin contributed the testing
process. The T-Motor company also supported the project
Hydra by providing propellers without charge and supported
the scientific effort.
16463
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