Combined Design and Open-loop Control Optimization for Propulsion, Power, and Thermal Management of Hybrid-electric Aircraft

This paper presents a multi-disciplinary optimization framework supporting early-stage design of integrated propulsion, power, and thermal management systems for hybrid-electric aircraft. The framework leverages a graph-based modeling approach rooted in transient conservation of energy that allows multiple energy domains to be compactly coupled, simulated, and optimized simultaneously. Case studies for a series hybrid-electric aircraft architecture demonstrate the benefits of optimizing for transient operation rather than worst-case steady-state behavior, and highlight how the framework can be used to study how the optimal design changes as a function of key specifications, such as electrical component efficiencies and energy densities.