NASA X-57 Maxwell
Parts of this article (those related to tense) need to be updated.(June 2023) |
X-57 Maxwell | |
---|---|
Artist's concept of the X-57 (Mod IV) | |
Role | Experimental light aircraft |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | ESAero[1] |
Status | Cancelled (June 2023) |
Primary user | NASA |
Developed from | Tecnam P2006T |
The NASA X-57 Maxwell was an experimental aircraft being developed by
Development
The experiment involved replacing the wings on a twin-engined Italian-built
The first test phase used an 18-engine truck-mounted wing. The second phase installed the cruise propellers and motors on a standard P2006T for ground- and flight-test experience. Phase 3 tests were to involve the high-lift DEP wing and demonstrate increased high-speed cruise efficiency. The leading-edge nacelles would be fitted, but the high-lift propellers, motors and controllers not be installed. Phase 4 was to add the DEP motors and folding propellers to demonstrate lift-augmentation.[7]
LEAPTech project
The Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project is a
The LEAPTech project began in 2014 when researchers from
In 2015, NASA researchers were ground testing a 31 ft (9.4 m) span,
The experiment precedes the X-57 Maxwell X-plane demonstrator proposed under NASA's Transformative Aeronautics Concepts program. A piloted X-plane should fly within a couple of years, after replacing a Tecnam P2006T wings and engines with an improved version of the LEAPTech wing and motors. Using an existing airframe will allow engineers to easily compare the performance of the X-plane with the original P2006T.[11]
X-57 Maxwell
The X-57 project was publicly revealed by
NASA's first X-plane in over a decade, it is part of NASA's New Aviation Horizons initiative, which will also produce up to five larger-scale aircraft. The X-57 was built by the agency's SCEPTOR project, over a four-year development period at Armstrong Flight Research Center, California, with a first flight initially planned for 2017.[14][15][16]
In July 2017, Scaled Composites was modifying a first P2006T to the X-57 Mod II configuration by replacing the piston engines with Joby Aviation electric motors, to fly early in 2018. Mod III configuration will move the motors to the
The donor Tecnam P2006T was received in California in July 2016. In a December 2016 test, a battery cell was shorted and the overheating spread to other cells, requiring the packaging to be redesigned from eight to sixteen modules with
In December 2017, the redesigned passively cooled battery module with 320 lithium-ion cell down from 640 passed testing. The experience helped
By September 2018, the first Joby Aviation JM-X57 electric cruise motor were mounted with controllers, batteries and new cockpit displays at Scaled Composites in Mojave, before flight tests in mid-2019. Construction of the ESAero high aspect ratio, low drag composite wing was then almost finished, to fly the Mod 3 by mid-2020.[20]
Built by Xperimental, the cruise-optimized wing load testing was completed by September 2019, to ±120% of design load limit, verifying free movement of control surfaces and vibration testing for flutter predictions. After motor ground runs, ESAero was to deliver the Mod 2 X-plane with electric motors replacing the original piston engines to NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California on the first week of October.[21] ESAero delivered it on October 2, 2019.[22] At that time, systems ground tests were to start by the end of 2019, and flight tests were to begin in the third quarter of 2020.[23]
By February 2021, NASA was to start Mod 2 high-voltage functional ground testing at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, toward taxi tests and first flight.[24]
In June 2023, the program was cancelled due to safety problems discovered with the propulsion system that were not solvable within the allocated budget and time for the program. The program had been started on the assumption that the existing electric propulsion technology was mature enough for safe flight, but that turned out to not be the case.[4][5]
Design
Modified from a Tecnam P2006T, the X-57 will be an electric aircraft, with 14 electric motors driving propellers mounted on the wing leading edges.[25] All 14 electric motors will be used during takeoff and landing, with only the outer two used during cruise. The additional airflow over the wings created by the additional motors generates greater lift, allowing for a narrower wing. The aircraft seats two.[26] It will have a range of 100 mi (160 km) and a maximum flight time of approximately one hour. The X-57's designers hope to reduce by five-fold the energy necessary to fly a light aircraft at 175 mph (282 km/h; 152 kn).[14] A threefold reduction should come from the switch from piston engines to battery-electric.[21]
Distributed propulsion increases the number and decreases the size of airplane engines. Electric motors are substantially smaller and lighter than jet engines of equivalent power. This allows them to be placed in different, more favorable locations. In this case, the engines are to be mounted above and distributed along the wings rather than suspended below them.[7]
The propellers are mounted above the wing. They will increase the air flow over the wing at lower speeds, increasing its lift. The increased lift allows it to operate on shorter
The speed of each propeller can be controlled independently, offering the ability to change the over-wing airflow pattern to cope with flying conditions, such as wind gusts. When cruising, the propellers closer to the fuselage could be folded back to further reduce drag, leaving those towards the wing tips to move the plane. Such aircraft would have no in-flight emissions, operate with less noise and reduce operating costs by an estimated 30%.[6] Cruising efficiency was expected to increase 3.5 to 5-fold.[7]
The 31.6 ft (9.6 m) span wing with an aspect ratio of 15 compares to a span of 37.4 ft (11.4 m) and an aspect ration of 8.8 for the stock P2006T wing, the slender wing's chord is 2.48 ft (0.76 m) at the wing root and 1.74 ft (0.53 m) at the tip.[7] The wing features twelve 1.89 ft (0.58 m) diameter cruise propellers that each require 14.4 kW (19.3 hp) of motor power at 63 mph (102 km/h; 55 kn) and turn at 4,548 rpm. The five-blade propellers fold in cruise to reduce drag. Each wingtip hosts two 3-blade 5 ft (1.5 m) diameter cruise propellers that each require 48.1 kW (64.5 hp) at 170 mph (280 km/h; 150 kn) and turn at 2,250 rpm. The wingtip location offers favorable interaction with the wingtip vortices, expected to provide a 5% drag saving.[7] The 47 kWh (170 MJ) battery packs weight 860 lb (390 kg) for a 121 Wh/kg density.[20]
The high-lift array of 12 propellers should maintain the 67 mph (107 km/h; 58 kn)
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Modification II
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Modification III
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Modification IV
Specifications (Mod IV)
Data from NASA[27]
General characteristics
- Capacity: 2 people
- Wingspan: 32.8 ft (10.0 m) [23]
- Wing area: 67.0 sq ft (6.22 m2) 42% of the 14.8 m2[28] baseline area
- Aspect ratio: 15 [7]
- Gross weight: 3,000 lb (1,361 kg)
- Battery: lithium-ion, 460V, 69.1 kWh total, 47 kWh usable, 860 lb (390 kg), 80 Wh/lb (180 Wh/kg) specific energy
- Powerplant: 2 × custom electric motors(max), 80 hp (60 kW) each (continuous),
117 lb (53 kg) each (incl. the propeller), air-cooled, the only motors to be used during the cruise, mounted on the wing-tips - Powerplant: 12 × custom electric motors,
15 lb (6.8 kg) each (incl. the propeller), air-cooled, only for take-offs and landings, mounted on the wing leading edges - Propellers: 2 × custom 3-blade propellers, 5 ft (1.5 m) diameter, 2,250 rpm,[7] independently-controlled variable speed
- Propellers: 12 × custom 5-blade propellers, 1.9 ft (0.58 m) diameter, 4,548 rpm,[7] independently-controlled variable speed, foldable
Performance
- Cruise speed: 149 kn (172 mph, 277 km/h) at 8,000ft
- Stall speed: 58 kn (67 mph, 107 km/h)
- Range: 87 nmi (100 mi, 160 km) [14]
- Endurance: approx. 1 hour[14]
- Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,300 m)
- Wing loading: 45[23] lb/sq ft (220 kg/m2)
- Lift coefficient: 4[23] (possible due to the extra lift provided by propellers placed as to increase the airflow over the wings)
See also
- List of electric aircraft
- Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
- NASA GL-10 Greased Lightning — hybrid diesel-electric tilt-wing UAV
- Eviation Alice — electric 9-passenger commuter aircraft under development
- Heart ES-30— hybrid-electric 30-passenger regional airliner under development
References
- ^ Julie Lynem (September 29, 2015). "ESAero, based in Oceano, to build NASA X-plane". The Tribune.
- ^ a b Beutel, Allard (June 17, 2016). "NASA Electric Research Plane Gets X Number, New Name". NASA. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
- ^ "NASA Launch Schedule". NASA. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ a b Verger, Rob (June 23, 2023). "NASA kills its electric plane program before aircraft ever leaves the ground". Popular Science. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ a b Niles, Russ (June 25, 2023). "NASA Axes X-57 Maxwell Before First Flight". AVweb. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ ISSN 0013-0613.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Graham Warwick (September 4, 2015). "NASA's Electric-Propulsion Wing Test Helps Shape Next X-Plane". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ Grady, Mary (March 18, 2015). "NASA's Electric Airplane Project Moves Forward". AVweb.
- ^ Szondy, David (March 18, 2015). "Could this 18-motor wing be the future of electric aircraft?". Gizmag.
- ^ Golson, Jordan (March 20, 2015). "NASA Straps 18 Propellers to a Wing, Because Science". Wired.
- ^ a b c d Merlin, Peter (March 16, 2015). "LEAPTech to Demonstrate Electric Propulsion Technologies". NASA. Archived from the original on May 6, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ Daines, Gary (June 17, 2016). "This Week @ NASA, June 17, 2016". NASA.
- ^ "REMARKS FOR ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN AIAA AVIATION 2016 "Concept to Reality: Our Journey to Transform Aviation"" (PDF). NASA. June 17, 2016. pp. 9–11.
- ^ Washington Post.
- ^ Alan Boyle (June 17, 2016). "NASA gets first official X-plane in a decade: Electric craft named X-57 Maxwell". GeekWire.
- Inverse.com.
- ^ Graham Warwick (July 19, 2017). "NASA Pushing Ahead With Electric X-plane". Aviation Week Network.
- ^ Graham Warwick (October 26, 2017). "Electric X-Plane Nears Crucial Battery Test". Aviation Week Network.
- ^ Warwick, Graham; Norris, Guy (June 5, 2018). "NASA Shares Hard Lessons As All-Electric X-57 Moves Forward". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ a b Guy Norris (September 5, 2018). "Motor Mounting Marks Milestone For NASA's Electric X-plane". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ a b c Graham Warwick (September 30, 2019). "The Week In Technology, Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2019". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ Potter, Sean (October 3, 2019). "NASA Takes Delivery of First All-Electric Experimental Aircraft". NASA. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Guy Norris (November 14, 2019). "NASA All-Electric X-57 Readied For Ground-Test Phase". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ "NASA to Begin High-Voltage Ground Testing on All-Electric X-57" (Press release). NASA. February 25, 2021.
- ^ Keith Button (May 2016). "Flying on Electrons" (PDF). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
- ^ Steve Fox (July 26, 2016). "Cockpit of the First All-Electric Propulsion Aircraft". NASA.
- ^ "X-57 Maxwell" (PDF). NASA. June 28, 2021. LG-2018-04-048-AFRC. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ "P2006T". Tecnam.