Located in Saint-Nazaire, France, the Nantes Atlantic Electricity Research Institute (IREENA) is organized into three thematic research teams. The research carried out at IREENA focuses on energy management, sizing and integration of new energies in applications ranging from decentralized energy production (distributed generation and microgrids) to transport solutions (aeronautics, automotive, maritime). More specifically, IREENA's laboratory research focuses on the implementation and design of energy chains integrating new conversion, production and storage technologies. In addition to the technological aspect, IREENA research addresses methodological aspects related to the development of advanced control and energy management strategies for different energy paradigms. 

As part of these activities, IREENA has recently set up a LabCom with the company XSun, called ICARE (Institut commun pour drones autonomes multi-énergies), which aims to address issues related to the optimized design of hybrid UAVs with high flight autonomy. A key step in this project will therefore be to identify solutions in terms of optimized sizing and energy management, based primarily on criteria of energy efficiency and drone endurance.

Missions

The challenge of this post-doc will be to implement the first modelling and energy management building blocks for a hybrid drone integrating photovoltaics, batteries and a fuel cell. The main objective will be to propose optimized energy management solutions, taking into account the multiple constraints of the UAV domain, in particular the constraints of mass, size, reliability and continuity of service. The management of degraded modes will have to be considered, as well as the validation on a HIL test platform that will be initiated as part of this work. In summary, the objectives of this project are to:

• propose a modeling basis for the future UAVs produced by XSun, and define the different mission profiles envisaged.
• develop optimized management rules to maximize UAV performance in different missions. Degraded and fault modes will also be considered.
• validate the work on a HIL test bench.

The postdoctoral fellow will be committed to the valorization of the work through communication at conferences and GdRs, as well as through publications in high-impact journals. S/he will also contribute to the development of the HIL test platform.

Main activities

The activities to be carried out by the post-doc can be divided into 4 main stages:

• Identify the technical and operational needs of UAVs based on a panel of potential missions. Develop a descriptive image of the energy identity of UAVs in terms of sources and storage. Then, define an application case that will serve as a base scenario for evaluating and testing the tools and methods developed in this post-doc.
• Define energy models for all components in the energy chain, including mission profiles and all auxiliary loads to be supplied.
• Propose optimized management strategies for UAVs, with the aim of maximizing performance and reliability (especially management of degraded modes).
• Set up the first building blocks of a HIL platform, to validate the management solutions developed, in a realistic environment.

In parallel with these studies, the post-doc will be responsible for promoting the work carried out through publications in high-impact journals, as well as at national and international conferences.