The present study aims at the implementation of a Matlab/Simulink environment to assess the performance (thrust, specific fuel consumption, aircraft/engine mass, cost, etc.) and environmental impact (greenhouse and pollutant emissions) of conventional and more electric aircrafts. In particular, the benefits of adopting more electric solutions for either aircrafts at given missions specifications can be evaluated.
The software, named PLA.N.E.S, includes a design workflow for the input of aircraft specification, kind of architecture (e.g. series or parallel) and for the definition of each component including energy converter (piston engine, turboprop, turbojet, fuel cell, etc.), energy storage system (batteries, super-capacitors), auxiliaries and secondary power systems. It is also possible to setup different energy management strategies for the optimal control of the energy flows among engine, secondary equipment and storage systems during the mission.
The tool is designed to be integrated with a multi-objective optimization environment. In the present investigation the tools has been applied to a regional airliner (ATR 72-600) as a case study and two options for the propulsion system were considered: conventional and More Electric Aircraft.
In order to validate the proposed turboprop model, the results obtained with PLA.N.E.S. were compared to nominal literature data and numerical values obtained with the Gas Turbine Simulation Program (GSP).