Aircraft batteries: current trend towards more electric aircraft

Abstract

Competition in the aircraft industry market and global warming has driven the industry to think along economic and environmental lines. This has resulted in the emergence of more electric aircraft (MEA). The increase in the power demand of aircraft, especially in the last two decades, coupled with advancement in battery materials and technology has led to the development of many high energy density batteries. This study presents an overview of the battery systems for MEA. In this paper, a study on the battery technologies used in aircraft in the last five decades is being done. A general background of the battery system is presented and the performance of the batteries based on energy densities and low temperature capabilities are evaluated and discussed. Evolution of MEA with its power system architecture and load profile is presented to understand the requirements of the battery system. Weight saving and cost analysis is done for the Li-ion and Ni-Cd batteries with respect to the requirement of an MEA 'Aircraft X'. Battery management system (BMS) for Li-ion batteries is also explored and discussed. Based on the analysis, Li-ion battery is selected and integrated with the power distribution DC network for future MEA.

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

“…For this reason, in order to safeguard the transformer health, a lower switching frequency can be advantageous. To avoid such problems, the switching frequency are usually selected in the range of 20 kHz to 100 kHz for MEA application [19]- [21]. The efficiency can also be optimized, when the selected switching frequency is this range.…”

Optimization of the Energy Storage of Series-Hybrid Propelled Aircraft by Means of Integer Differential Evolution

“…In [9], an aircraft design that relies on fuel cells for propulsion and that is characterized by an unusual motor placement in order to maximize efficiency is presented, while in reference [10], the behavior of batteries that are used for the propulsion of small unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) at different temperatures is discussed. Additionally, Tariq [11] presents an overview of the battery systems for the MEA with an analysis of battery management systems for Li-ion batteries.…”

Control of DC power distribution system of a hybrid electric aircraft with inherent overcurrent protection

“…Furthermore, it is known that the switching frequency is proportional to the partial discharge [14]. Therefore, to mitigate these effects, a defined range for the switching frequency is usually selected for aircraft applications [15], [16], [17].…”