SKAiB

SKAiB: Scalable fuel cell systems for electrical propulsion - surface based heat exchanger

The joint project SKAiB: Skalierbare Brennstoffzellensysteme für elektrische Antriebe is working on fuel cells for future commercial aircraft. The IFL is involved in the investigation and provision of models for low-drag heat exchangers in the outer skin. The waste heat from the fuel cells is supplied to the outside air via the thermal management system using coolant. If this waste heat can be released via heat exchangers integrated into the skin, conventional, drag inducing finned heat exchangers can be reduced. In addition, a heated boundary layer can reduce the frictional resistance of a turbulent flow. The IFL is developing models of varying accuracy for the panels of such skin heat exchangers. On the one hand, high-fidelity simulations of the coupled fluid and structural behaviour in differently sized cooling channels are created. On the other hand, faster low-fidelity models are created that can be used as part of the overall design.