Energy optimal climb performance of electric aircraft

Resumo

© 2019 by German Aerospace Center (DLR). Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.Aircraft equipped with an electric propulsion system are of increasing interest to the aeronautical community. This work focuses on the optimal performance of such aircraft during the climb phase, since it can be very energy consuming and demanding to the propulsion system. Analytical expressions for the optimal lift coefficient, throttle and velocity are derived as solutions to optimal control problems, for steady climb and for a simplified, linear accelerated climb, without a specified final time. The total energy cost and altitude gain are also derived in parametric form, allowing quick, useful estimations for conceptual design and performance analysis. This is supplemented by simulations in order to provide a quantitative insight to the problem.