A group of WSU students is working to build a unique High Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (HALE) plane -- only the third to be built in the world and the first and only at a university. 
 
The team hopes that the plane, unmanned and powered by liquid hydrogen, will be able to fly at 65,000 feet or 10 miles above the earth for several days at a time at temperatures that hover at minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

OK, you may want to cue up the music to the theme from Mission Impossible now.

 

"This is a chance to do something no one else is doing at a university,’’ says Jacob Leachman, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering who is leading the student project. "We’re competing for the national championship – and we’re the only ones competing.’’

 

"This is why I’m here --  to expand my knowledge and apply what I’m learning and to be part of something that could be huge,’’ adds Eric Barrow, a senior in mechanical engineering who signed onto the project.

 

Leachman and the students came together to begin working on the project this spring. The students wanted a new and interesting challenge after having participated in the WSU student chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The group sponsors a competition to design and build remote-controlled airplanes.

At the same time, Leachman, who does research in hydrogen and energy conversion, has developed a small pressurizer that he thinks might be useful for, well, an unmanned, hydrogen-powered, high altitude plane.  NASA designs of the HALE (high-altitude, long endurance) planes currently use a cumbersome 400 pound helium tank that serves to pressurize the hydrogen so that it can be used for fuel.  Leachman would like to replace the 400-pound tank with his pressurizer that is a little smaller than a pen. He asked the students to work with him to develop a way to test the idea.

At the same time, Leachman wanted to give students a valuable, hands-on experience in developing a cutting-edge technology.  Hydrogen-powered UAVs are of significant interest because unlike satellites, they can return to earth and be re-used. At the same time, a hydrogen-powered craft is more environmentally friendly than those depending on fossil fuels – with the only waste product being water.  Hydrogen has a higher specific energy than carbon-based fossil fuels, so if it can be harnessed for new uses, it would provide more energy without pollution. Such unmanned vehicles have numerous applications, ranging from weather monitoring to forestry and military applications.

 

"It’s a really exciting industry, and it is projected to double in size in the next decade,’’ says Leachman.

 

With financial support from alumni gifts, the group of mechanical and electrical engineering students will first develop a small, remote-controlled plane that uses a hydrogen fuel cell.  After that, they aim to build a larger model and run it on liquid hydrogen. With its rural location with little airplane traffic, WSU is at an advantage for testing such an experimental plane, says Leachman.

 

"This is a unique experience for a highly motivated team,’’ he says. "If successful, the accomplishment will be self-evident.’’

 

If you’re interested in supporting the project, please contact Don Shearer, associate director of advancement for the College of Engineering and Architecture, don.shearer@wsu.edu, or (509) 335-4733.