Modeling Airborne Clean Energy Systems

Pereira, Tiago Romeiro Marques

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/6349

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Authors

Pereira, Tiago Romeiro Marques

Advisor(s)

Galvão, João Rafael da Costa Sanches

Faria, Paula Cristina Rodrigues Pascoal

Mateus, Artur Jorge dos Santos

Abstract(s)

Batteries are increasingly becoming an essential element on the management and storage of electrical energy leading to multiple applications, such as, electrical vehicles and microgrids. This project will focus on the thermal behaviour of a battery to be used on mobile aerial systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), requiring low weight and high-capacity components. A battery’s temperature must be properly managed for a safe and efficient operation. As a result, several battery thermal management systems have been developed with distinct methodologies, applications, and degrees of efficiency. This project aims at developing several different models of heatsinks based on passive cooling, focusing on cooling a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle battery, and on the use of topology optimization and selective laser melting for its manufacture. Topology optimization will be coupled with computational thermal analysis to reduce the mass of the heatsink whilst ensuring a maximum battery temperature threshold. Along the use of topology optimization, the selective laser melting (SLM) process has been selected to manufacture the heatsinks for its geometrical freedom and ability to process highly thermal conductive metal alloys, such as aluminium and cooper alloys. Following the optimization of the heatsinks the models are validated through a transient thermal analysis. The results of the validation step are compared with those from the thermal performance of the battery system without a battery thermal management system. It resulted in heatsink models with branch like structures, and reduced weight and volume compared to the initial design space available, around a 75% reduction on average. It also moderately increased the amount of time the battery can work continuously within a safe temperature range (with an increase between 48 and 120%). These results indicate that a proper battery thermal management system allows for longer operation while increasing longevity and safer operating temperatures, broadening the capabilities of a battery system, and enabling innovative designs.