Superconducting Ducted Fan Design for Reduced Emissions Aeropropulsion

This article introduces a new conceptual design tool for an environmentally sustainable method of aeropropulsion: a ducted fan system driven by a fully superconducting electrical machine. Such a system could help mitigate aviation's contribution to global climate change by enabling the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. An electro-thermal motor sizing model was coupled with cycle analysis and weight estimation routines to create an automated environment for rapid design trade studies. The resulting parametric cycle analysis and sizing outcomes revealed the system's operational boundaries for a given aspiration space.