Energy Recovery for Commercial Aircraft

This project will investigate advanced technologies in the field of kinetic energy recovery and identify possible solutions for the aviation sector. A short range aircraft can be used by some airlines up to 13 legs a day. Hence, during its mission, the aircraft spends a significant proportion of its time taxiing, climbing or descending rather than cruising. During landing a large amount of kinetic energy is dissipated by the brakes and released as heat energy. This creates an opportunity to recover and store this energy, so that it can be used during taxiing or for other functions. The project will consist of fundamental research on energy recovery and storage, as well as blue sky solutions in terms of control engineering. The reduction of brake wear in the context of resources efficiency is also a key objective. This research in the aforementioned key areas will aim at achieving or maintaining UK technology leader status in the field.