A simulation software for the assessment of performance, costs and environmental impact of conventional and advanced configuration aircraft has been developed and validated. The software is named PLA.N.E.S. (PLAtform for New Environment-friendly Solutions), and includes a sizing routine and a mission simulator. The simulation is performed with the so-called backward paradigm, i.e. the flight conditions along the mission (altitude and speed versus time) are assumed to be known. Accordingly, the instantaneous power request of the aircraft to meet that flight mission and the corresponding instantaneous fuel consumption are calculated. In the case of advanced powertrains, it is also possible to choose different energy management strategies for the optimal control of the energy flows among engine, secondary equipment and storage systems during the mission. The components currently modeled in PLA.N.E.S. include energy converters (piston and Wankel engines, turboprop, fuel cell, etc.), energy storage systems (batteries, super-capacitors), auxiliaries and secondary power systems. The tool is designed to be integrated with a multi-objective optimization environment. In the present investigation PLA.N.E.S. has been applied to a Medium Altitude Medium Endurance (MAME) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as a case study to compare an experimentally validated Wankel-based powertrain with a proposed turbocharged diesel piston-prop system. auxiliary power Unit brake mean effective pressure brake specific fuel consumption environmental cabin system electricity storage system hybrid electric vehicle internal combustion engine lower heating value more electric aircraft state of charge true airspeed takeoff available distance engine bleed air mass flow rate of fuel acceleration aspect ratio wing span nominal capacity of the battery drag coefficient parasite drag coefficient lift coefficient propeller power coefficient propeller thrust coefficient drag force acceleration distance transition distance propeller diameter rotation distance takeoff distance Oswald's efficiency factor gravity acceleration lift off height propeller advance ratio lift induced drag coefficient lift force mass of the aircraft empty mass fuel mass payload nominal powertrain mass number of engines propeller speed (instantaneous) atmospheric pressure mechanical power requested by accessories electric power required by electric accessories engine power shaft propulsion power propeller power shaft radius of turn wing area time thrust rolling time true air speed open circuit voltage stall speed weight of the aircraft altitude time step of the backward simulator fraction of thrust generated by the propeller compression ratio climb angle engine efficiency generator efficiency propeller efficiency gear efficiency wheel friction coefficient air density corrected density takeoff/sea level/parasite average braking cruise climbing engine nominal sea level takeoff 
Development and validation of a software tool for complex aircraft powertrains