PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - I can't wait for electric/hybrid aircraft.
Old 6th Jan 2010, 21:06
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AdamFrisch
 
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The fuel cell is looking a lot more like a non starter. For the huge cost (mainly due to the platinum needed in them) and difficulties with hydrogen production and storage. Very little advancement has been done recently.

I think power cells and batteries have a brighter future.

Yes, the microturbine running a generator is interesting as it delivers pretty good efficiency at max rpm and at altitude. It's also lightweight. And the turbine stage that goes out to a shaft to generate power can also be made a lot more efficient than if you would just take a turboprop type solution - the turbine stage at the end that converts the hot gases to shaft power could for instance be made as a Pelton turbine. Peltons are very efficient at capturing high speed streams and converting it to shaft power.

Or the free piston generator is also a very interesting development, albeit not as light or vibration free as a turbine. But probably a bit more efficient. Basically, it's just an opposed piston running in a tube, but instead of converting the linear motion to a circular motion in a crankshaft that then drives a generator (with all the losses that entails), the pistons themselves act as a magnets and travel back and forth inside a coil (AC current):

Free Piston Power Home

Here's a clip showing a simple free piston generator (ignore the Stirling bit):

YouTube - RESONANT STIRLING ENGINE GENERATOR

Or here:

YouTube - Ubiquitous Electric Power Generation Devices : DigInfo
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