A Quadruple Active Bridge Converter for the Storage Integration on the More Electric Aircraft

Abstract

Abstract-The More Electric Aircraft concepts aims at increasing the penetration of electric systems on the aircrafts. In this framework, the electrical power distribution system (EPDS) is of high importance. In order to improve the utilization of the generators and face the peak power demand without disconnecting the loads, different technologies of storage are employed. This paper proposes the use of a Quadruple Active Bridge converter, already employed in other fields, to interface a fuel cell, a battery and a supercapacitor bank to the DC bus of the EPDS. This objective can be achieved by employing multiple DC/DC converters, that allow an individual control of the energy sources and a good efficiency. Obtaining the same power control and efficiency with a multi-port power converter constitutes a challenge which is worth taking to reduce cost, volume and weight and increase the system reliability. A novel control based on PI controllers in conjunction with a decoupling system and current feed-forward allow shaping the power request to each port. This, however, leads to an asymmetrical loading of each port, which could decrease the efficiency. A laboratory prototype is used to confirm that this asymmetrical kind of operation, where each port processes a different amount of power, does not imply a marked reduction of efficiency.

On-Board Microgrids for the More Electric Aircraft—Technology Review

“…Research on the extension of the soft switching range as well as modifications to the basic topology to achieve other optimization targets [53] are reported. The flexibility offered by the DAB has pushed researcher to extend the concepts to multi-port topologies [54]- [56]. An advantage offered by this kind of concept would be the possibility to interface different buses or different loads while guaranteeing the galvanic isolation.…”

“…In [69], [70] different schemes are evaluated: depending on the optimization target (fuel consumption, component stress) different profiles are generated. Multi-port converters can also be adopted to the purpose of storage interface [54]. Adaptive droop control can be employed to regulate the state of charge and the voltage support without communication between the nodes [71].…”

A Survey on Bidirectional DC/DC Power Converter Topologies for the Future Hybrid and All Electric Aircrafts

“…Microgrid architectures are considered a promising alternative to one-generator-per-bus conventional electrical architectures, as it is expected to lead to generators size reduction [10]. A recent application example is found in [11], where a bidirectional power converter for 270 VDC/28 VDC is investigated, with a focus on control capability of different energy storage sources (multiport converter). In this context, high-voltage DC (HVDC) to low-voltage DC (LVDC) bidirectional converters have been proposed as interface element between HVDC and LVDC buses in pure HVDC architectures [8].…”

“…However, these high efficiencies come at the expense of a low switching frequency (20 kHz), which might lead to low power densities (not available data regarding weight). Finally a 20 kW Quadruple Active Bridge (as in [11]) prototype is also presented in [22], with nominal efficiencies of 98%, although no information is provided about switching frequency or power density.…”

A Smart Transformer-Rectifier Unit for the More Electric Aircraft

“…High frequency waveforms of voltage and current of loaded and unloaded cell. Efficiency measurement of the QAB converter[6].…”