The use of static electricity and chemical-kinetic storage to power electric unmanned aerial vehicles

The rapid development of electric-powered aircraft (with electric and hybrid power plants, including unmanned ones) is determined by the following advantages: reduction of harmful effects on the environment, reduction of noise exposure, reduction of maintenance costs. However, the development of such aircraft is hindered, in addition to organizational and legal difficulties, also by technical ones, the key of which are: low power-to-weight ratio of the aircraft (compared to piston and jet aircraft), electrification, underdeveloped infrastructure of airports and airfields. One of the options for solving the problem of increasing the power and energy efficiency of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with electric traction is the installation on board of a chemical-kinetic energy storage (rotating battery packs), with the possibility of using static electrification to recharge batteries. This system allows you to implement a continuous consumption / recovery cycle during the flight. The design was developed and a simplified assessment of the energy and technical characteristics of a promising UAV based on the selection of static electricity was given. The principle of operation of the static electricity extraction system based on rotating battery packs is shown, the main advantages over traditional systems of energy storage / recovery of aircraft are given. The results of the calculation and research of a prototype (a promising unmanned aerial vehicle) are presented, showing the versatility of the design, high operational and technical characteristics, as well as recommendations for the practical application of the developed UAV design. The results obtained are the initial stage of promising work to improve unmanned aerial vehicles and electric-powered aircraft systems. The low weight and size characteristics, as well as the unusual principle of operation of the static electricity extraction system based on a rotating battery packs allows it to be used as an autonomous power source for unmanned aerial vehicles, which allows in the future to extend this principle of energy consumption for any electric-powered aircraft. This work is an important stage in the development of highly efficient power plants operating on unconventional principles of energy production, which, on the one hand, expands the field of research of storage/ recovery/ consumption systems in modern aircraft construction, on the other hand, gives a powerful impetus to the development of engineering and scientific thought in the field of unmanned aircraft construction.