global briefing
// The E-Fan X is being
developed by AIrbus
and Rolls-Royce as a
technology demonstrator
For regular news updates:
for hybrid-electric
propulsion systems
AerospaceTestingInternational.com
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // MARCH 2020 13
The modifications to the aircraft will be done within
the UK. The major modification will be engine number
three, which will house a 2MW electric propulsion unit
(EPU), swapping the aircraft’s current turbine for a Rolls-
Royce-developed electrically driven fan and motor
housed within the existing engine’s cowling.
The EPU will be powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 2100 gas
turbine-driven 2.5MW generator at the rear and battery
system located at the front of the aircraft. According to
Rolls-Royce the system will be the world’s most powerful
flying generator when airborne.
The hybrid-electric system, including the gas turbine,
generator, power distribution system, motor and EPU are
currently being tested at Airbus’ Test House in
Ottobrunn, Germany before integration into the BAe146.
Other modifications are being made to the aircraft to
mitigate the expected heat that is produced by the new
hybrid-electric system inside the aircraft. These changes
include the addition of heat exchangers, air
intakes and exhausts on the fuselage.
Gilfillan said, “The three main concerns with
hybrid-electric systems on aircraft are battery safety,
installing the high voltage system in a confined space
and the waste heat from the high voltage system, which
is all produced in the wrong place. In this aircraft its
being removed and dumped outside, but in future
designs something better will be done with it.”
WIND TUNNEL TESTS
Airbus also recently completed wind tunnel testing on a
1:8 scale-model of the E-Fan X at its Filton low-speed
wind tunnel in the UK. The wind tunnel has a test section
measuring 3.65 x 3.05m and can produce airflow at
speeds of up to 216mph.
At a 1:8 scale, the E-Fan X was tested with a
wingspan of over 3m. The model modified and used
for the test was the same as was
used in the BAe146 RJ100’s original
development in the early 1980s.
“The E-Fan X is an aircraft demonstrator, so it’s not
optimized for aerodynamic design,” said Oliver Family,
Airbus head of overall aircraft design, E-Fan X. “But to fly
the demonstrator safely and efficiently, the aerodynamic
impacts need to be fully understood.”
“The only change we discovered during the test
program is that we need to modify the porosity of some
of the devices inside the ducts to ensure they relate
correctly to the full-scale E-Fan X model devices,” said
Paul Gingell, Airbus wind tunnel test engineer. //
/AerospaceTestingInternational.com
/AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM