Colorado Space Grant Symposium 2010 Colorado State University Advisor: Dr. Thomas Bradley Team: Derek Keen, Grant Rhoads, Tim Schneider, Brian Taylor, Nick Wagner

 Goal: Fly an electrically powered UAV for over 24 hrs.  Increased value for research, commercial and military missions  Naval Research Lab, and University of Michigan  Verify optimization research performed by a team at Georgia Tech  System approach, as opposed to Sub-system optimization  Construction nearly complete  Flight Tests Pending  Battery flights for Flight testing and Data collection  Final Fuel Cell flight

Electric Motor (Hacker A60-18L) Fuel Cell System Composite Airframe SkinAutopilot System Blue Explorer RC Glider

 Design of experiment comparison between conventional and integrated balance of plant design Polar- ization Curve CA BoP Sizing CAs BoP Power Reqd Aircraft Performance CAs Fuel Cell Balance of Plant (BoP) Design Variables n cells A fc BoP Mass & BoP Power Aircraft A – Automotive-type Balance of Plant Design Active-Area-Limited Current Polar- ization Curve CA Fuel Cell Balance of Plant (BoP) Design Variables n cells A fc BoP Mass & BoP Power Aircraft C – Application-Specific Balance of Plant Design Active-Area-Limited Current BoP Sizing CAs Aircraft Performance CAs Current Reqd for Climb

 Wing & Tail Assembly  From Blue Explorer RC Sailplane  Maintained mounting points and CG alignment  4 servos/wing side, 2 servos for tail  Fuselage Structure  1” & 0.75” Carbon tube “backbone”  Wing, H 2 tank, and Motor mounting brackets shown here  Tail “blended” into tube  Not shown, servo mounting brackets

 Landing Gear  Version 1  Two-Wheel taildragger configuration  Lightweight composite laminate  Mold seen on right, Main gear  Low lateral stability  Brace sheared off on first flight  Version 2  Single main wheel taildragger  PVC = heavy, Difficult to balance  Final Setup  Tricycle configuration  More stable and steerable, Lower Drag AoA

 IR Sensors  Based on difference in IR signatures  Earth = Warm (287 K), Sky = Cool (250 K)  Provides Roll and Pitch sensing  GPS Receiver  Provides Heading, Altitude and Velocity sensing  Transceiver System  2-Way Communication  Between ground station and aircraft  Flight diagnostics  In-flight mission control  Xbee & autopilot transceiver

 Paparazzi, open source platform  Processing and Servo Control  C based language  Control algorithms previously developed  Necessary to adjust gains and define servo ports  Graphical Interface  Linux based  Displays flight path and flight condition information

 Purpose:  Provide robust testing system  Allow data collection for control and fuel cell adjustments  Lithium-polymer batteries  Initial System  Axi 4130 motor, Jeti Advance 70 A speed controller  Current System  Hacker A60-18L motor, Phoenix 110 A speed controller.

 PEM Fuel Cell, Proprietary  Developed by UTRC specifically for this aircraft  33 cell, 1.68 kg system  200 W cruise power, 600 W max power  90% H 2 utilization  Hydrogen Storage  9 L composite overwrapped pressure vessel  5000 psi, 3 stage pressure regulation to 1 atm.  Custom fitting milled at CSU

 Air Supply  Provides oxygen for fuel cell  Via a filter and a Micronel U51DX 51mm High Performance Radial Blower  Chosen based on performance, power usage and weight  Provides cooling for electronics and fuel cell  Power Management Control board  Developed by our team at CSU  Controls the air supply blower and the hydrogen purge rate according to the measured current.  Includes sensors to determine the health of the fuel cell in flight,  Data logger to record these details  Telemetry system to send the readings to the ground.

 Stability and Control Verification  Initial flight test will help to finalize gains for control scheme  Stable flight  Optimal flight regime for power usage  Autopilot control uses Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control  Initial values set by simulating on computer and using lessons learned from a training aircraft.

 Data Collection  Power usage, current required  Fuel cell ground testing  Tune control board  Monitor fuel cell environment to ensure proper operations  Flight Tests scheduled for early May  Final Fuel cell flight to follow

 Complete final fuel cell flight >24hrs (or more)  Present work at AIAA JPC/IECE conference  Cryogenic Hydrogen storage systems  roughly 10 times the power density  Spoken with some manufacturers  Different power schemes & flight envelope limits  Dependent on funding and interest in coming years

 A BIG Thank You to:  Advisor - Dr. Thomas Bradley,  Pilot - Rich Schoonover,  United Technologies Research Center (UTRC),  CSU COSGC Director - Dr. Azer Yalin,  Funded by UTRC and COSGC