NASA’s X-57 Maxwell all-electric aircraft has reached another milestone toward its first flight by successfully thermal testing its cruise controls. Thermal testing is important because it verifies the design, functionality, and build quality of the control units—critical components for powering the X-57’s experimental electric motors. These complex systems have temperature-sensitive parts and must be able to withstand extreme conditions during flight.
Cruise engine controllers convert the energy stored in the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries to power the aircraft’s engines, which drive the propellers. The control units use silicon carbide transistors that provide 98% efficiency at high output and drive, meaning they do not generate excessive heat and can be cooled by air flowing through the motor.
During a recent test at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, each of the flight engine controllers survived operating inside a test chamber in the range of temperatures they might encounter during flight with a safety margin applied (minus 11 to 147 degrees Fahrenheit).
The test team carefully monitored the thermal responses of the power components and control components inside the control units to ensure that they remained within the allowable temperature range of the components. Careful monitoring ensures that the cruise controls will function properly during manned research flights.
Now that ground tests have validated the controllers under the most extreme temperature conditions expected in flight, the X-57 team is one step closer to integrating all of Maxwell’s systems and making them work together—one of the plane’s greatest challenges. especially the unique X-plane. The next major step before the research flights take place is the upcoming flight readiness assessment at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
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Reference : https://www.nasa.gov/feature/glenn/2023/nasas-x-57-maxwell-is-major-step-closer-to-flight-readiness
