Forthcoming Articles

International Journal of Alternative Propulsion

International Journal of Alternative Propulsion (IJAP)

Forthcoming articles have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication but are pending final changes, are not yet published and may not appear here in their final order of publication until they are assigned to issues. Therefore, the content conforms to our standards but the presentation (e.g. typesetting and proof-reading) is not necessarily up to the Inderscience standard. Additionally, titles, authors, abstracts and keywords may change before publication. Articles will not be published until the final proofs are validated by their authors.

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International Journal of Alternative Propulsion (One paper in press)

Regular Issues

  • Powering the skies: optimising energy sources in UAV technologies via multi-attribute decision framework   Order a copy of this article
    by Lutfu Sagban Sua, Figen Balo 
    Abstract: Limited flight endurance remains one of the primary constraints in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations, making energy source selection a critical design challenge. This study presents a hierarchical multi-attribute decision-making framework to systematically evaluate and optimise power source selection for UAV applications. A two-level analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed, where alternative energy sources are first compared based on a comprehensive set of technical, operational, and economic attributes and rate-based criteria. Solar energy, combustion engines, hydrogen fuel cells, and lithium-polymer (Li-Po) batteries are evaluated at the first decision level. Based on the obtained rankings, a second-level analysis is conducted to identify the most suitable battery technology among nine alternatives using factors such as energy density, power density, cycle life, efficiency, cost, and technology readiness. Pairwise comparisons, normalisation, and weighted scoring are applied to derive global priorities for each alternative. The results indicate that Li-Po batteries achieve the highest overall score among the evaluated power sources, while nickelmetal hydride (NiMH) batteries emerge as the most attractive battery type. The proposed framework provides a transparent and adaptable decision-support tool for UAV designers, enabling informed energy system selection to enhance endurance, performance, and operational efficiency.
    Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle; UAV; battery; energy source; analytic hierarchy process; AHP; multi-attribute decision strategy.
    DOI: 10.1504/IJAP.2026.10081114
     

 

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