Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 15, 2008 - (Page 70) CLEAN FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 AND GREEN Airbus project leader Jens Dietrich Kurre with the Michelin fuel cell system (including tanks by Carleton Technologies) being tested on DLR’s A320. ‘Eco-Efficiency’ Drives DLR/Airbus H2 Project Claiming its goal is “eco-efficiency,” Airbus Industrie has joined forces with the German DLR (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt) to test the feasibility of using hydrogen fuel cells to generate electric power for aircraft systems. In 2007, a 20-kW fuel cell system manufactured by Michelin was installed in the German aerospace research center’s Airbus A320 flying test bed (registration D-ATRA) as a standby electrical system. Following extensive ground acceptance tests to insure the system was airworthy, the A320 made its first flight with the fuel cell unit on board in July that year in France, and the system was tested in maneuver loads up to 3Gs. Subsequent flights were made to verify the fuel cell’s operation under various flight profiles, and in February 2008, a mission was conducted in which the fuel cell was used to directly power pumps for the air transport’s flight control hydraulic system. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology with Airbus, the DLR, and Michelin as partners, the purpose of the project is to explore the potential use and environmental benefits of fuel cell technology in aircraft. Replacing conventional gas turbine auxiliary power units (APUs), fuel cells like the Michelin unit could yield significant reductions in fuel consumption, harmful emissions, and even exterior noise. Another advantage is the ability to instantly produce full electrical power to accommodate high loads in the low operating temperatures of high-altitude flight. Furthermore, because the only byproducts of fuel cell operation are heat and water, the H2O can be used to supply the aircraft’s potable water and waste-management systems, saving weight and additional fuel use. There were challenges associated with installing the Michelin fuel cell in the A320’s 70 cargo bay, according to Professor Johann-Dietrich Worner, chairman of the DLR executive board. In addition to modifications to the cargo bay, a portable infrastructure for the cell’s oxygen/hydrogen fuel system had to be designed and constructed. Then flight test instrumentation to monitor the fuel cell’s operation had to be developed, installed, and approved by DLR and the German aviation authorities. Thanks to its long-term research experience with fuel cells, DLR “has developed a high degree of expertise in all aspects of fuel cell technology from theory, to system development, commissioning, and integration,” Professor Worner said. Meanwhile, Airbus officials have cited fuel cells as “one of the most promising ‘step change’ technologies” for reducing aviation’s environmental impact. It is noteworthy, however, that fuel cells owe their origins to nineteenth century research efforts by, among others, British scientist William Grove—who built a proto-fuel cell he called the “gas battery” in 1838—and that their modern descendents were used in NASA’s Apollo program forty years ago to generate electricity for lunar spacecraft. —David Esler RUAG Missim for Self-Protection RUAG Aerospace’s Missim (missile simulation), a testing device for self-protection systems, combines radar, laser and missile signatures. It can be used flexibly at a range of up to 20 meters from the sensors. Signal strength is automatically adjusted to the range. Missim can be used on air, land and sea-borne platforms, and is capable of testing all the wellknown self-protection systems, such as MILDS, COLDS and LSU from EADS or ISSYS, the integrated self-protection solution from RUAG Aerospace and Saab Avitronics. July 15, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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