Performance Assessment of Electrical Motor for Electric Aircraft Propulsion Applications : Evaluation of the Permanent Magnet Motor and its Limitations in Aircraft Propulsion

This thesis project will evaluate which kind of electrical motor is best suited for aircraft propulsion and which parameters effect the efficiency. An economic analysis was conducted, comparing the fuel price (Jet A1) for a gas turbine and the electricity price for an electric motor of 1MW. The study was conducted by using analytical methods in MATLAB. Excel was used to compile and present the data. The data used in this thesis project were assumed with regards to similar studies or pre-determined values. The main losses for the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) were calculated to achieve a deeper understanding of the most important parameters and how these parameters need to improve to allow for future electric propulsion systems. The crucial parameters for the losses were concluded to be the temperature, voltage level, electrical frequency, magnetic flux density, size of the rotor and rotational speed. The three main losses of a PMSM was illustrated through the analytical equations used in MATLAB. The calculations present how the ohmic losses depend on the temperature (0-230°C) at different voltages (700V and 1000V), how the core losses depend on frequency (0-1000Hz) at different magnetic flux densities and how the windage losses depend on rotational speed (7000-10000 rpm). It could be concluded that at 8500 rpm an efficiency of 91,26% could be achieved at 700V, 1.5T and 90.4% at 1000V, 1.65T. The decrease in efficiency is a result of the increase in magnetic flux density. When looking at the economic viability of electrical integration the power to weight ratio and energy price was compared for the gas turbine and electrical motor including an inverter and battery. This resulted in a conclusion that a pure electrical system may not compete with a gas turbine in 30 years of time due to the low energy density of the battery. It was also concluded that the emissions during cruise could be lowered significantly. If the batteries were charged in Sweden the emissions would decrease from ~937 kg CO2 to ~31 kg CO2. If the batteries were charged in the Nordic region the emissions would decrease to ~119kg CO2. However, if the batteries were to be charged in the US the carbon dioxide emission would be ~1084 kg CO2, which is an increase in CO2 emission compared to the gas turbine