Parameter Analysis of Engine Start-up Phase of Micro Gas Turbine Engine for Rapid Start-up

The increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has heightened the demand for counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) technologies. C-UAS methods are broadly categorized into soft-kill approaches, such as electronic jamming, and hard-kill approaches, which rely on physical interception. For the latter, rapid engine start-up is essential for achieving high mobility. However, commercial engines with conservative start-up procedures can take over 70 seconds to start, which is a significant contrast to the sub-20-second start-up time of rapid-start engines. In addition, since commercial engine control units (ECUs) restrict users from modifying or optimizing the control logic, developing engine control logic that enables rapid start-up is necessary for C-UAS weapon systems equipped with micro gas turbine engines. In this study, the start-up characteristics of a JetCat P300-RX micro gas turbine engine were experimentally analyzed using an Arduino-based control kit. Key parameters influencing the start-up sequence, including the starter motor cut-out RPM, starting fuel valve opening time, main fuel valve opening time, ignition-phase fuel pump voltage, and acceleration-phase fuel pump voltage were identified and the effect of each parameter was quantitatively evaluated by applying a single-variable modification approach. By combining the best-performing conditions for each parameter, the start-up time was reduced by approximately 41.7%. These results provide a practical foundation for optimizing engine control logic and developing domestic controllers, ultimately contributing to the improved performance of rapid-response weapon systems.