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Markets
Defense
Transportation
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Location
UK
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Client
Airbus
James Domone
Senior Engineer, Aerospace, Defence, Sec & Tech (ADST Practices), Bristol, United Kingdom contact form+44 1454 66 3056
We’ve helped Airbus move closer to zero emission flight through our involvement in an innovative hybrid-electric flight demonstrator. We provided requirements management and mechanical and electrical engineering support for the aircraft manufacturer’s E-Fan X project, which tested some of the new technologies that could transform aviation.
Our role in this flagship project, which was a collaboration between Airbus and Rolls-Royce, was to consider the safety implications of embracing hybrid-electric technologies. In the E-Fan X test aircraft, one of four jet engines was replaced with a 2 MW electric motor. That was powered by a generator, and additional energy was stored in batteries.
Learning from other industries
The voltages and currents in the E-Fan X were far higher than on a typical aircraft. But they are common in other sectors, including rail. For that reason, we called on our colleagues from the rail business within AtkinsRéalis to help us calculate the electrodynamic loads in a section of high-voltage cable, so we could understand, for example, what would happen if there was a spike in electricity in the event of a short circuit. We also carried out detailed structural analysis of the cable brackets and the way they attached to the frame of the aircraft to make sure they would not fail under the increased electrodynamic load.
To do this work, we referred to the rail industry’s well-established safety standards and utilized the software we’d developed to help meet our clients’ challenges in that industry.
Just the start of the journey
The E-Fan X project was cancelled in early 2020. But the work carried out on hybrid-electric technologies over the past three years will help Airbus and Rolls-Royce better understand how they could progress the industry's decarbonization efforts. The state-of-the art testing facility for propulsion systems that was home to E-Fan X will also enable Airbus to move closer to zero-emission aircraft.
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