Performance evaluation of two proton exchange membrane and alkaline fuel cells for use inUAVsby investigating the effect of operating altitude

International Journal of Energy ResearchVolume 46, Issue 2 p. 1481-1496 RESEARCH ARTICLE Performance evaluation of two proton exchange membrane and alkaline fuel cells for use in UAVs by investigating the effect of operating altitude Mohsen Rostami, Mohsen Rostami orcid.org/0000-0003-2716-4374 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malekashtar University of Technology, ShahinShahr, IranSearch for more papers by this authorMojtaba Dehghan Manshadi, Corresponding Author Mojtaba Dehghan Manshadi mdmanshadi@alum.sharif.edu orcid.org/0000-0002-2143-0670 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malekashtar University of Technology, ShahinShahr, Iran Correspondence Mojtaba Dehghan Manshadi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malekashtar University of Technology, Ferdosi Street, ShahinShahr, Esfahan, Iran. Email: mdmanshadi@alum.sharif.eduSearch for more papers by this authorEbrahim Afshari, Ebrahim Afshari orcid.org/0000-0003-4833-917X Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranSearch for more papers by this author Mohsen Rostami, Mohsen Rostami orcid.org/0000-0003-2716-4374 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malekashtar University of Technology, ShahinShahr, IranSearch for more papers by this authorMojtaba Dehghan Manshadi, Corresponding Author Mojtaba Dehghan Manshadi mdmanshadi@alum.sharif.edu orcid.org/0000-0002-2143-0670 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malekashtar University of Technology, ShahinShahr, Iran Correspondence Mojtaba Dehghan Manshadi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malekashtar University of Technology, Ferdosi Street, ShahinShahr, Esfahan, Iran. Email: mdmanshadi@alum.sharif.eduSearch for more papers by this authorEbrahim Afshari, Ebrahim Afshari orcid.org/0000-0003-4833-917X Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranSearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 September 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/er.7263Citations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary Fuel cells today have a variety of applications, such as fueling vehicles, which lead to a reduction in conventional fuel consumption and environmental pollution. On the other hand, in the present era, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is known as one of the most important unmanned systems for delivering postal packages, environmental monitoring, disaster relief, and military target. However, the performance of fuel cells is affected by their operating pressure and temperature. In addition, due to some political and technical considerations, the performance of these systems (especially UAV based on fuel cells) is very rare in the literature. The present work provides a conceptual design of UAV propulsion system based on a fuel cell system and a battery. The performance of two different fuel cells, namely the alkaline fuel cell (AFC) and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), is examined separately and compared. Mission and constraint analyses of the system, as well as weight distribution of UAV, are provided. Furthermore, the performance of the UAV propulsion system in different flight modes and the performance of fuel cells under atmospheric conditions are discussed. It should be noted that reference UAV data are used for input parameters. It was found that the total power required by the UAV to carry out the mission is equal to 1253.7 W, which the share of takeoff, climb, cruise, and maximum speed flight modes were 321.3, 608.5, 118.3, and 205.6 W, respectively. Furthermore, the UAV under study, in this paper, has flight endurance of about 7.4 hours. Also, the required area of the PEMFC and AFC to supply the UAV power under the study conditions is about 0.03 and 0.6 m2, respectively. Finally, it observed that with increasing altitude (in the absence of a heating system) the performance of both fuel cells is greatly reduced. Open Research DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Citing Literature Volume46, Issue2February 2022Pages 1481-1496 RelatedInformation