Table 1 VTOL modeling input parameters
Parameter | Notation | Min value | Base-case Value | Max value | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battery energy capacity | C | — | 140 | — | kWh | Uber7 |
Battery depth of discharge | DoD | — | 0.8 | — | — | Harish et al.23 |
Battery-specific energy | E* | 250a | 400b | — | Wh kg−1 | a: Elgowainy et al.10 b: Misra37 |
Gravitational acceleration | g | — | 9.81 | — | m s−2 | Constant |
Cruise altitude | h | — | 1000 (305) | — | ft (m) | Uber3 |
Cruise lift-to-drag ratio | L/D | 13 | 17 | 20 | — | Uber7 |
Takeoff mass | m | — | 1187.5 | 1660 | kg | Calculated and Datta2 |
Battery mass | m b | — | 350 | 560 | kg | Calculated |
Payload mass | m p | — | 87.5 | 350 | kg | FAA38 |
Structural mass | m s | — | 750 | — | kg | Calculated and Ullman et al.6 |
Rate of climb | ROC | — | 1000 (5) | — | fpm (m s−1) | Stoll and Mikic35 |
Rate of descent | ROD | — | 1000 (5) | — | fpm (m s−1) | Stoll and Mikic35 |
Cruise true airspeed | V | — | 150 (241.4) | — | mph (kph) | Uber3 |
Wind speed | V wind | −30 | 0 | 30 | Knots | Chosen input |
Battery mass fraction | β | — | 0.23 | 0.33 | — | Calculated |
Disk loading | δ | — | 450 | — | N m−2 | Stoll32 |
Climb and cruise system efficiency | η c | 0.700a | 0.765b | 0.800 | — | a: Stolaroff et al.25 b: Brown and Harris26 |
Hover system efficiency | η h | — | 0.63 | — | — | Ullman et al.6 |
Battery charge-discharge efficiency | — | — | 0.90 | — | — | Cooney et al.28 |
Primary-to-delivered electricity efficiency | — | — | 0.408 | — | — | GREET29 |
Electrical grid carbon intensity | — | 0.065 (CA) | 0.135 (US) | 0.190 (Central) | kg-CO2e MJ−1 | GREET29 |
Sea-level air density | ρ | — | 1.225 | — | kg m−3 | Engineering toolbox39 |
