Meet the editors

Alessandro Serpi obtained his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cagliari in Italy in 2004 and 2009, respectively. He then did research on power electronics, electrical machines, and drives as a postdoc researcher at the same university, where he became assistant professor in November 2015. His research activity currently concerns the development and implementation of opti-

mal/predictive control algorithms for electrical drives and energy storage systems. Alessandro Serpi is a coauthor of about 90 scientific publications in international journals and conference proceedings and 2 book chapters. He is the proposing associate of "NEPSY" (Novel Electric Propulsion System), an academic spin-off of the University of Cagliari that was set up in August 2017.

Mario Porru obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Electronic and Computer Engineering from the University of Cagliari, Italy, in 2009, 2011, and 2015, respectively. From 2015 to 2018, he was a postdoc researcher at the same university, where he has recently become assistant professor of power electronics, electrical machines, and drives (April 2018). His research activity focuses on the

management and control of energy storage systems and highly integrated electric propulsion systems. He is a coauthor of about 30 papers published in international conference proceedings and journals and 1 book chapter. Mario Porru is a cofounder and associate of NEPSY (Novel Electric Propulsion System), a spin-off company of the University of Cagliari.

Contents

*by Adolfo Dannier*

*by Koichi Mori*

Distributed Propulsion Systems

Beamed Launch Propulsion

Hall Thruster Erosion

**Preface III**

**Chapter 1 1**

**Chapter 2 21**

**Chapter 3 51**

**Chapter 4 73**

**Chapter 5 91**

**Chapter 6 113**

Options and Evaluations on Propulsion Systems of LNG Carriers

Overview of Main Electric Subsystems of Zero-Emission Vehicles

Wetland Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Electrical

*by Tu Huan, Fan Hongjun, Lei Wei and Zhou Guoqiang*

*by Esteban Valencia, Víctor Alulema and Darío Rodríguez*

*by Andrey Vitalievich Loyan and Alona Nikolaevna Khaustova*

*by Naga Praveen Babu Mannam and P. Krishnankutty*

Biological Propulsion Systems for Ships and Underwater Vehicles

## Contents


Preface

The transport sector is one of the most valuable sectors in the world. It represents the large oil consumers but still relies mainly on fossil fuels. Since the world trend in fossil fuel use is expected to increase further, a more sustainable transportation system is unavoidable to cope with emerging economic and social issues, such as massive energy consumption and emissions of pollutant gases. In this regard, several solutions are possible, among which are improving the energy efficiency of conventional propulsion systems, using alternative and less-pollutant fuels, and/ or employing hybrid and full-electric propulsion systems. In particular, transport electrification is a very promising and suitable solution because it increases wellto-wheel efficiency and reduces emissions, also through the use of a mix of energy sources; this reduces the dependence of the transport sector on oil, especially in those countries where a high share of electricity is or will be produced by renewable

In this scenario, this book provides an overview of some recent and promising technological advancements in propulsion systems, ranging from on-board components to different propulsion system architectures. In particular, the first chapter presents a survey of the most employed propulsion systems for liquefied natural gas carriers: each propulsion solution is analysed and compared with others in terms of economic factors, efficiency, and emissions. The second chapter deals with road vehicles, namely the main electrical subsystems for a zero emissions vehicle are presented and discussed, which consist mainly of energy storage systems, power electronic converters, traction motors, and charging infrastructures. Electric propulsion systems are also the topic of the third chapter, which presents their application to distributed propulsion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); in particular, the design of two UAVs characterized by different electric propulsion systems is presented and discussed by highlighting the most important features of each design solution. The fourth chapter of the book deals instead with laser-based propulsion systems, which are particularly suitable for space vehicles. The operating principles of different laser propulsion systems are described and discussed by highlighting the most important advantages and issues that still need to be addressed. The fifth and last chapter of the book is on Hall thrusters, especially on the erosion process of the discharge chamber (DCh); in this regard, methods of how to measure the DCh erosion process are presented; one of which is

In conclusion, the book will provide a brief but significant insight into propulsion system design and architecture by covering different topics and application fields (road, marine, and aerospace). In this regard, electric propulsion systems are becoming increasingly attractive with the aim of reducing pollutant emissions and increasing propulsion efficiency, not only for road vehicles but also for the marine and aerospace sectors. Therefore, although full-electric propulsion systems may not be economic and/or technically viable in all sectors yet, the increasing use of hybrid propulsion systems reveals that the transition from conventional fuel-based to full-electric propulsion has started, which could be accomplished in the next few

energy sources.

analysed and discussed in detail.
