Design and Construction of a UAV for High Atmosphere Flight Powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cell

The need to improve the quality of monitoring and forecasting of volcanic gases and ashes dispersion, which frequently contaminate the airspace close to volcanoes, has led to the development of a modeling chain for the forecasting of atmospheric conditions and air quality. It provides airport companies with information aimed at increasing flight safety, together with decision support tools to adopt, in case of risk, measures for their temporary closure. For the validation of the model on a regional scale, in particular for the area surrounding the Etna volcano in Italy, measurement campaigns on gases and ashes, on the ground and at altitude, are necessary, the greatest difficulty of which consists in the height of the volcanic plume (7-14 km). To this end, the work presents the design and construction of an innovative UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) prototype, a fixed-wing aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells, equipped with sensors for detecting the emitted substances, flying at high altitudes (above 3,000 m) and piloted beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight (BVLOS). The UAV can have useful applications for the territory observation, control and management (prevention of natural disasters), for first aid and others, targeting markets in aeronautics, transports, health care.