We all know now, that the future energy source is hydrogen. But how to generate it, store it, distribute it, and pay for it is what has to be done well. In this situation, we are the roadmap to the 2100 century. The Departiment of Energy has made a very strong ($$billions) commitment to supporting technologies and business plans that will result in the cost of generating hydrogen to be only $1/kg, and do within a decade. Currently delivered Hydrogen is about $6/kg… (more if created using very expensive electricity). The idea that the whole world will cool down (today science says its warming up) by stuffing hydrogen into all energy systems that are currently based on coal, gas, and oil (petroleum) is unlikely to happen. Too many people cannot afford electric cars and AirBus 380s powered by hydrogen. Hydrogen is essential for the future of cryogenically cold vehicles using super-conducting motors. Getting that to fly and certified will take 10 years and over $10 billion R&D.
LH2 CRYO-COPTER GUTS
SINGLE LIFT FAN FOR FUTURE VTOLS SHOWN HERE IS THE FIRST DESIGN FOR LH2 TANKING INTEGRATED WITH A SUPER-CONDUCTING MOTOR DRIVING A SLOW,
WHO ARE THE CONSORTIA CONTRIBUTORS?
Why must the electric motors be made of super-conductors?.
This “HUB” is the digital home of diverse innovators working for the next 10 years, cooperatively on the same, singular mission objective. That is not to save the global atmosphere, but to deliver “EMERGENCY VEHICLES” needed to deal with all the disasters that will be created by climate change. These innovators (gov agencies, Universities, big and small corporations and especially AGGRESIVE investors) will be using funds from various charitable R&D trusts as well as tax free city/state development “bonds” to be sold over the next decade.
Most VTOL innovations exploit the “toy-quad-copter” concept of multiple motors (& propellers) based on the high power-per-kilo-of-weight available from permanent-magnet DC motors. Key to that aircraft design strategy has been the 4, or 5 or 6 (or more) “DC-power plants changing the current (RPM speed) to the motors, and/or changing the prop’s angle of attack. That works well for staying stable in a hover mode, but that is energetically very inefficient, so all VTOLs now promote their rapid transition of leaving the hover configuration (for takeoff) and moving forward horizontally. The Joby aircraft tilts its well-designed lift-fan propellers, from vertical to horizontal for efficient forward flight. Others simply shut down completely the multi-motor “lift function” and stability of many horizontal motors, and at sufficient altitude, turn on a forward thrust(s) to enable typical “wing” structures to provide efficient lift, for maximum travel distance on a given Gigajoule of stored energy. Liquid Hydrogen will change that dynamic. It permits a single (or 2 or 3, or 4) lift fan(s) of much LARGER dimension, with LOTS of lift fan blades (more than 5), to provide excellent HOVER efficiency by SLOWLY rotating the unique thrust-fan which, in turn, slows the downdraft airflow and hence the level of noise during near-ground hover. Adding to that, the best aerodynamic efficiency would be to put the lift-fan(s) into a duct, and the best of that is to have two counter-rotating fan-discs in a proper ducting (akin to Bell’s solution). The end result: SUSTAINED HOVERING EFFICIENCY, especially with lots of stored energy, is the real breakthrough.
WHAT CAN WE SAY HERE? (QUOTE STUFF)
The history of electric powered VTOL flight was in the hands of Mike Hirschberg, editor of “Vertiflite” the association magazine/website for the Vertical Flight Society. (he is seated third from the right (dark business jacket) at the table of innovators who launched the TRANSFORMATIONAL VTOL consortium. On the far left seat of the table, (in his white “smoking”) is the “GODFATHER” of hydrogen powered VTOL aircraft R&D, based on nearly 50 years of obsessive commitment to the subject, starting in 1970 when working effectively as a “venture capitalist” in the Central Research Labs of the 3M company (which has had a LOT to do with the materials issue of cryogenic insulation, fuel cell PEMs, aircraft fabrication adhesives, etc.)
Some Useful links
To come soon
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