The aeronautics industry has been challenged on many fronts to increase flight efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease dependence on traditional hydrocarbon fuels. Each year, aviation produces over 900 million metric tons of CO2, which without new interventions in policy, technology, and business practices, will further increase alongside the growing air-transport market. Electrification of aircraft systems offers a promising avenue for decarbonizing aviation, though in a fashion unique from approaches used in other transportation markets. This talk will provide a background into aircraft electrification, describe technological developments that enable improvements towards environmentally-responsible air transportation, and forecast a vision for future generations of aircraft systems.
Bio:
Dr. Phillip J. Ansell is an Assistant Professor and Allen Ormsbee Faculty Fellow in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also the director of the Center for High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft (CHEETA) focused on developing advanced technologies for electrified aircraft propulsion. Prof. Ansell earned his Ph.D. (2013) and M.S. (2010) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his B.S. (2008) in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State University. His primary areas of work include subsonic and transonic aerodynamics, fluid dynamics, applied aerodynamics, atmospheric flight sciences, aero-propulsive integration, and aircraft propulsion electrification.
