Technology Demonstration of a Megawatt-Class Integrated Motor Drive for Aircraft Propulsion

View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-4157.vid While continued propulsion system and turbomachinery improvements are necessary, they are not sufficient to address the 2050 aviation sustainability goals. Without intervention aviation will emit a cumulative total of over 20 billion tons of CO2 by then. An ambitious target is to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. The step change achievements needed to address the climate grand challenge are unconventional aircraft configurations with integrated and distributed propulsion systems, thermal management of high power-density rotating machinery, advanced high temperature materials, reduced, but safe, engineering and operability margins for improved performance, alternative energy carriers, smart and flexible fuel systems, and key enabling technology demonstrations. Independent of the energy carrier (battery, SAF, H2, NH3), MW class electrical machines will play a key role in greening aviation. To address the climate and sustainability grand challenge, a high specific power fully air-cooled 1MW electrical machine is being developed, conceived to advance electrified aviation but also suitable for other ground-based applications. One application is integration in an aero-engine as a motor-drive for turbo-electric propulsion. The emphasis of this project is on risk mitigation experiments and technology demonstration of a 1 MW integrated motor drive with performance estimates exceeding the NASA 2030 goals.