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Journal ArticleDOI

The More Electric Aircraft: Technology and challenges.

01 Dec 2014-IEEE Electrification Magazine (IEEE)-Vol. 2, Iss: 4, pp 6-12
TL;DR: The importance of power electronics as an enabling technology for this step change in aircraft design is considered, and examples of typical system designs are discussed in this article, as well as the exciting future challenges for the aerospace industry.
Abstract: The More Electric Aircraft concept offers many potential benefits in the design and efficiency of future large, manned aircraft. In this article, typical ?aircraft electrical power systems and associated loads are described as well as the exciting future challenges for the aerospace industry. The importance of power electronics as an enabling technology for this step change in aircraft design is considered, and examples of typical system designs are discussed.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
07 May 2018
TL;DR: The constant growth of air traffic, the demand for performance optimization, and the need for decreasing both operating and maintenance costs have encouraged the aircraft industry to move toward more electric solutions causing major changes in electric power system architectures.
Abstract: The constant growth of air traffic, the demand for performance optimization, and the need for decreasing both operating and maintenance costs have encouraged the aircraft industry to move toward more electric solutions. As a result of this trend, electric power required on-board of aircraft has significantly increased through the years, causing major changes in electric power system architectures. Considering this scenario, this paper gives a review about the evolution of electric power generation systems in aircraft. The major achievements are highlighted and the rationale behind some significant developments discussed. After a brief historical overview of the early dc generators (both wind- and engine-driven), the reasons which brought the definitive passage to the ac generation, for larger aircraft, are presented and explained. Several ac generation systems are investigated with particular attention being focused on the voltage levels and the generator technology. Furthermore, examples of commercial aircraft implementing ac generation systems are provided. Finally, the trends toward modern generation systems are also considered giving prominence to their challenges and feasibility.

384 citations


Cites background from "The More Electric Aircraft: Technol..."

  • ...The B787 main electrical power generation relies on four 250-kVA VFGs (two per each main engine), while the A380 uses four 150-kVA VFGs (one per engine), as reported in Table IV [3]....

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  • ..., excessive overload and short-circuit faults) [5], [38]....

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  • ...A number of aircraft have been claimed to incorporate MEA designs, nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that the two programs, which have really and seamlessly integrated the MEA concepts, are the long-haul, wide bodied commercial aircraft known as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 [38]....

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  • ...As a result of this trend, commercial aircraft implementing more electric features are nowadays available and some examples are the A380 and the B787 [3]....

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  • ...In fact, the PECs have not yet reached a proper reliability level for making the VSCF systems a viable option [38]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of technology related to on-board microgrids for the more electric aircraft, where security of supply and power density represents the main requirements, is presented.
Abstract: This paper presents an overview of technology related to on-board microgrids for the more electric aircraft. All aircraft use an isolated system, where security of supply and power density represents the main requirements. Different distribution systems (ac and dc) and voltage levels coexist, and power converters have the central role in connecting them with high reliability and high power density. Ensuring the safety of supply with a limited redundancy is one of the targets of the system design since it allows increasing the power density. This main challenge is often tackled with proper load management and advanced control strategies, as highlighted in this paper.

166 citations


Cites background from "The More Electric Aircraft: Technol..."

  • ...verter can be one of the most prevalent applications for power electronics on an MEA [2]....

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  • ...aircraft (MEA), but the propulsion remains completely traditional; in an MEA, only the subsystems are electrified [2]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Unless the discussed challenges are satisfactorily addressed and solved, arriving at an AEA that can properly operate over commercial missions will not be possible.
Abstract: Narrow body and wide body aircraft are responsible for more than 75% of aviation greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and aviation, itself, was responsible for about 2.5% of all GHG emissions in the United States in 2018. This situation becomes worse when considering a 4-5% annual growth in air travel. Electrified aircraft is clearly a promising solution to combat the GHG challenge; thus, the trend is to eliminate all but electrical forms of energy in aircraft power distribution systems. However, electrification adds tremendously to the complexity of aircraft electric power systems (EPS), which is dramatically changing in our journey from conventional aircraft to more electric aircraft (MEA) and all electric aircraft (AEA). In this article, we provide an in-depth discussion on MEA/AEA EPS: electric propulsion, distributed propulsion systems (DPS), EPS voltage levels, power supplies, and EPS architectures are discussed. Publications on power flow (PF) analysis and management of EPS are reviewed, and an initial schematic of a potential aircraft EPS with electric propulsion is proposed. In this regard, we also briefly review the components required for MEA/AEA EPS, including power electronics (PE) converters, electric machines, electrochemical energy units, circuit breakers (CBs), and wiring harness. A comprehensive review of each of the components mentioned above or other topics except for those related to steady state power flow in MEA/AEA EPS is out of this article's scope and should be found somewhere else. At the close of the paper, some challenges in the path towards AEA are presented. Unless the discussed challenges are satisfactorily addressed and solved, arriving at an AEA that can properly operate over commercial missions will not be possible.

144 citations


Cites background or methods from "The More Electric Aircraft: Technol..."

  • ..., to neglect dynamics that have little effect in functional layer analysis, and to consider the very dynamics in behavioral layer of analysis [19]....

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  • ...ing the VSCF technique necessitates the total power passing through a converter [19]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
Fei Gao1, Serhiy Bozhko1, Greg Asher1, Patrick Wheeler1, C. Patel1 
TL;DR: In this article, an improved voltage regulation method in a multisource-based dc electrical power system in the more electric aircraft is proposed, which can be used in terrestrial dc microgrids as well, effectively improves the load sharing accuracy under high droop gain circumstance with consideration of cable impedance.
Abstract: This paper proposes an improved voltage regulation method in a multisource-based dc electrical power system in the more electric aircraft. The proposed approach, which can be used in terrestrial dc microgrids as well, effectively improves the load sharing accuracy under high droop gain circumstance with consideration of cable impedance. Since no extra communication line and controllers are required, it is easily implemented and also increases the system modularity and reliability. By using the proposed approach, the dc transmission losses can be reduced and the system stability is not deteriorated for normal and fault scenarios. In this paper, optimal droop gain settings are investigated and the selection of individual droop gains as well as the proportional power sharing ratio has been described. Simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

133 citations


Cites background from "The More Electric Aircraft: Technol..."

  • ..., [1], architectures with dc distribution have attracted significant research interest due to their potential advantages, such as lower total weight, higher efficiency, and reduced cost [4]....

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  • ...DUE to the higher energy efficiency, reduced maintenance and operational costs, as well as the potential for lower environmental impact, the more electric aircraft (MEA) concept is becoming a trend in modern aircraft design [1], [2]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The theoretical analysis is instrumental in designing an optimally stable single dc bus EPS and provides a stability analysis based on the derivation of the output impedance of the source subsystem and input impedance ofThe load subsystem, including control dynamics.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the analysis of a single dc bus multigenerator electrical power system (EPS) for future more electric aircraft. Within such a single bus paradigm, the paper proposes a detailed control design procedure and provides a stability analysis based on the derivation of the output impedance of the source subsystem and input impedance of the load subsystem, including control dynamics. The single bus characteristic is analyzed and the stability properties of the EPS are investigated when supplying constant power loads. In addition, the paper highlights the impact on stability of the number of parallel sources and of the power sharing ratio. The theoretical analysis is instrumental in designing an optimally stable single dc bus EPS. The key findings are validated by experimental results.

127 citations


Cites background from "The More Electric Aircraft: Technol..."

  • ...This can increase efficiency, reduce weight, and remove the need for reactive power compensation devices [1], [2]....

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References
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Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address some of the issues and trends becoming apparent in aircraft electrical power systems and present a number of developments at the component level that are well advanced and will increase electrical power levels.
Abstract: Most parties within the industry are convinced that the more-electric systems will offer significant benefits for the aircraft in terms of weight, reliability and operating costs and a number of developments at the component level are well advanced. This trend will increase aircraft electrical power levels which are already increasing for other reasons. This paper addresses some of the issues and trends becoming apparent in aircraft electrical power systems. (9 pages)

44 citations