A Comparative Assessment of Hybrid Parallel, Series, and Full-Electric Propulsion Systems for Aircraft Application

This article presents a preliminary suitable sizing methodology for the design process of the powertrain architecture for a hybrid-electric propulsion system for ultra-light and general aviation aircraft. The main objective of this activity is to design and realize a prototype of a hybrid-electric propulsion system for Cessna 337 aircraft with a maximum take-off power of 134 kW. At the same mission, two operating strategies have been chosen, max recharge and max efficiency. The first one consists of the engine running at wide-open throttle to quickly charge the battery, while the second runs at minimum specific consumption to reduce consumption. The primary energy assessment has been conducted in all proposed propulsion configurations with the same aircraft, mission, and maximum take-off weight. The results also indicated that parallel hybrid propulsion shows a better compromise in terms of 10% energy saving, 4% CO₂ reduction, and mission duration.