Optimization and Experimental Validation of Energy Management and Control for a Distributed Hybrid Electric Propulsion Aircraft

This paper presents a distributed hybrid electric propulsion system (DHEPS) retrofitted for a general aviation aircraft, incorporating additional distributed propulsion units to enhance overall performance. Subsystem modeling and component parameter selection are conducted for a hybrid electric ground testbed. A hierarchical control framework is proposed, featuring a top-level supervisory controller based on state machine energy management strategy (SM-EMS). At the bottom level, control strategies for electro-mechanical coupling across multiple time scales are developed, integrating reinforcement learning-based field-oriented control (RL-FOC) and extended Kalman filter (EKF) methods for distributed motors, as well as adaptive PI control for regulating the engine-generator shaft speed. Simulation results for a cruise flight profile demonstrate that the DHEPS achieves a 7.4% reduction in fuel consumption and a 2.1% improvement in energy-specific air range compared to the baseline aircraft. The RL-FOC and EKF-based methods for distributed motors significantly improves response time and steady-state accuracy over conventional PI control, while the adaptive PI control minimizes overshoot and shortens settling time. Dynamic ground testing further validates effective power matching, voltage-current balance, confirming the robustness of the hierarchical control framework and the successful implementation of the DHEPS configuration and the SM-EMS.