This paper presents and in-depth analysis of All-Electric-Aircraft (AEA) architectures. The aim of this work is to provide a global vision of the current AEA state of art, to estimate main technological gaps and drivers and to identify the most promising architecture configuration for future electrical aircraft in the context of a twin propeller 20 MW aircraft. The comparison between architectures is done based on three different figures of merit: reliability, efficiency and specific power density. The methodology presented and the trade studies are applied to a narrowbody aircraft of 20 MW, equivalent to an Airbus A320, and following current efforts of government agencies to achieve cleaner air mobility within the next two decades.

A distributed input multi-port topology is proposed in this work based on the use of a Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC). The Distributed Input Modular Multilevel Converter (DIMMC) is based on the application of an MMC to multi-phases systems, such as multiport generators or multiport transformers. The proposed converter is devised for high voltage and high-power applications with distributed inputs such as ship electric propulsion systems or industrial application available for both ac or dc loads. The main claims of the DIMMC are integration, modularity, scalability and fault tolerance. This work analyzes the steady state behavior of the converter, fault tolerance and the advantages/disadvantage of its application.I.