Flex fuel
Most of us don’t need to think about where to get fuel for our drones (at least yet). But this question is significant for defense organizations, which use drones to conduct surveillance and to deliver goods and materials, often to remote bases. Because drones operate on jet fuels that must be shipped from a small number of suppliers in the United States, keeping them fueled and ready can present a challenge.
The U.S. Army tapped a UIC Engineering team for a collaborative effort to address this problem. Led by Professor Ken Brezinsky and Associate Professor Patrick Lynch, the UIC researchers will use an $8 million Army Research Laboratory grant to develop specialized sensors that will allow drones to use a wider variety of fuel types.
As part of the same project, they will explore hybrid-electric power options for drones—findings that could be relevant to companies that are looking for efficient ways to deliver packages to businesses and homes.
Brezinsky and Lynch are experts in combustion chemistry and the diagnostics of reacting chemical systems. Through this project, they can expand on their previous research and create sensors for a specific practical use. The UIC team’s sensors will be combined with innovations created by research teams at other institutions—such as ignition components and control systems—to produce drones that can function on multiple types of fuel.
“The more fuels drones are able to use, the longer and farther they will be able to fly,” Lynch said.