Sensitivity analysis of critical design parameters for powertrain enhancements affecting hydrogen fuel cell aircraft performance

초록

Efforts to curtail global emissions to mitigate the impacts of climate change have focused on the critical need for the aviation industry to explore electrification options such as hydrogen propulsion systems. For electrified aircraft to operate efficiently, it is essential to comprehend the key powertrain characteristics and how they contribute to improved performance. This work develops an integrated surrogate-assisted global sensitivity analysis framework for a 19-seat hydrogen fuel cell aircraft, in which Sobol low-discrepancy sampling, RBF metamodeling, and variance-based Sobol indices are coupled to an iterative aircraft sizing model. The resulting parameter rankings are further cross-checked using a Gaussian emulator to assess robustness and reduce dependence on a single analysis route. The results show that hydrogen storage efficiency and fuel cell efficiency are the dominant parameters governing both first-order and total effects, while the minimum drag coefficient also significantly influences fuel mass, tank mass, fuel cell power, maximum take-off mass (MTOM), and electric power conversion. In addition, the comparison between first-order and total-order sensitivity indices reveals interaction-driven coupling among aerodynamic, storage, and powertrain variables within the multidisciplinary aircraft sizing space. These findings provide valuable guidance for the early-stage design of hydrogen fuel cell aircraft developed from scratch, enabling informed selection of critical design parameters to maximize performance while satisfying the mass constraints of a 19-seat aircraft.

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