HYBRID-ELECTRIC RETROFIT AND PERFORMANCE MODELING OF CESSNA 172

Date

2025-8-27

Author

Yazıcılar, Berilnaz

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As the aviation industry continues to grow, interest in the use of renewable energy sources is increasing due to their economic and environmental impacts. However, current battery technology levels still limit the design of fully electric aircraft because of battery weight, making hybrid-electric propulsion systems a more feasible option. In this study, a hybrid-electric propulsion system is applied to the Cessna 172N aircraft, and a performance modeling and simulation analysis are presented. The original internal combustion engine is replaced by a parallel hybrid-electric system that includes both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. The retrofit is performed without exceeding the maximum takeoff weight or altering the aircraft’s external geometry. A point mass performance model based on aerodynamic, atmospheric, and engine parameters is developed to simulate mission capability under specified conditions. The model is validated for the internal combustion configuration using data from the Cessna 172N Flight Manual and Engine Operator’s Manual. The effects of hybridization on fuel consumption and energy distribution throughout the defined mission are investigated and compared across current and future battery technologies with this validated model. The results show that, under the given mission profile, hybrid-electric retrofit can offer meaningful improvements in future battery scenarios without violating structural or performance constraints of the aircraft.

Subject Keywords

Hybrid-electric propulsion, Retrofit, Cessna 172, Performance modeling, Mission analysis

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/116052

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis