X-57 Maxwell

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided to pull the plug on the X-57 Maxwell test aircraft at the end of the year.

About the X-57

About

• The NASA X-57 Maxwell is an experimental aircraft being developed by NASA, intended to demonstrate technology to reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise 

Objective

• The goal of the X-57 is to demonstrate that an all-electric airplane can be more efficient, quieter and more environmentally friendly than airplanes powered by traditional gas piston engines.
• The X-57 will demonstrate the use of a high-power distributed electric propulsion system for use on an aircraft, including a 460-volt battery to power 14 motors and propellers.
• In addition, the X-57 will demonstrate that vehicle cruise efficiency can be optimized by integrating the versatility and efficiency of electric propulsion into the vehicle design.

A modified version of the P2006T

• X-57 experiment involves replacing the wings on a twin-engine Italian-built Tecnam P2006T (a conventional four-seater light aircraft) with distributed electric propulsion (DEP) wings each containing electrically driven propellers.
• The X-57 is a modified version of the P2006T, which is a twin-engined aircraft designed by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam.
• However, NASA, in order to test battery-powered electric propulsion, modified the P2006T with an array of six electric motors on each of the leading edges of high-winged aircraft and a larger motor on the wingtip of each wing.

Battery and Fuel

• X-57 will be more efficient and reliable with electric propulsion powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, with no fuel being combusted, there will not be any greenhouse emissions, thus making the operating cost of the aircraft significantly cheaper.

• The 12 small motors on the wings will be used during take-off, but once it reaches altitude and begins cruising, the propellers of the motor fold inwards, thus reducing drag, and the larger wingtip motors are used for propulsion when cruising.

Significance

• When complete, the X-57 Maxwell test program hopes to have demonstrated how to safely operate an all-electric, zero-emissions aircraft, including its battery and power distribution systems.
• That knowledge will be helpful to future engineers interested in designing all-electric air vehicles that might be used for everything from urban air mobility to moving passengers and cargo between nearby cities.

https://odishatv.in/news/science/nasa-builds-all-electric-aircraft-to-create-path-toward-electric-aviation-207852