I-Corps: Hydrogen Micro Gas Turbines for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of hydrogen fuel-based micro gas turbines for small drones. Small drones (2-25 kg) have been used widely in various applications, such as law enforcement, digital agriculture, fire monitoring and prevention, and geospatial surveying/mapping. These drone users often require long flight times to address tasks that cannot be completed by battery-powered small drones.

The proposed micro gas turbine technology may increase the flight duration of small drones from 20 minutes to over 2 hours, which may significantly increase the practicability of using small drones in many applications. In addition, the proposed micro gas turbines do not require a mobile fuel-based electric generator, which avoids the fire hazard from liquid fuel storage.

Furthermore, the micro gas turbine is capable of working in harsh environments, such as at high and low temperatures and in humid areas, where batteries often fail. Overall, the technology under development may enable commercialization of applications that will benefit from longer flying duration drones or compact power generation in remote fields.

This I-Corps project is based on the development of a micro gas turbine technology to allow small drone users to extend flight endurance by replacing battery power with a compact turbine-based hybrid energy supply system. The proposed system has been found to be fuel-efficient, lighter, and save service time/cost. The proposed technology may increase the flight time of small drones by a factor of four at 1 kg system weight when compared to the most advanced lithium polymer batteries.

The micro gas engine uses a unique engine architecture, advanced materials, and additive manufacturing techniques to ensure a reliable onboard power generation system. In addition, the proposed engine utilizes compressed high-pressure hydrogen as fuel, which has a high energy density and zero carbon emissions. Hydrogen is pre-heated after passing through the combustor wall, then mixed with compressed air and burned in a premixed combustion mode through high-temperature porous media.

The proposed micro gas turbine engine may significantly advance design and fabrication technologies in small and portable power conversion devices.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.