Demonstration of fast‐acting protection as a key enabler for more‐electric aircraft interconnected architectures

Abstract

This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/59952/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the Abstract: Driven by anticipated fuel-burn and efficiency benefits, the More-Electric Aircraft (MEA) concept is a technological shift in the aviation industry which seeks to replace mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic functions with electrical equivalents. This shift has greatly increased the electrical power demands of aircraft and has made MEA networks larger and more complex. Consequently, new and more efficient electrical architectures are required, with interconnected generation potentially being one design approach that could bring improved performance and fuel savings. This paper discusses the current state of interconnected generation in the aviation industry and key technological advances that could facilitate feasible interconnection options. The paper demonstrates that interconnected systems can breach certification rules under fault conditions. Through modeling and simulation, it investigates the airworthiness-requirements compliance of potential impedance solutions to this issue and quantifies the potential impact on system weight. It concludes by identifying fast fault clearing protection as being a key enabling technology that facilitates the use of light-weight and standards-compliant architectures.

Electrical protection solutions enabling integrated electrical power and composite structure systems for aircraft

“…At present, electrical fault protection methods in MEA for solid faults (arc faults are not considered in this paper) are focussed on fast fault protection for low impedance faults with a high fault current to prevent fault propagation and protect the healthy, non-faulted EPS on the aircraft [10]. However, electrical faults through CFRP present a significant challenge due to the variation in the electrical resistance that the CFRP may add to the fault current pathway [4].…”

Comparative Analysis of Si, SiC and GaN Field-Effect Transistors for DC Solid-State Power Controllers in More Electric Aircraft

“…In each subsequent experiment the gate pulse is increased by either 1 µs or 0.5 µs. To avoid saturation in inductor L µ , an air-core inductor is designed with a wire having a cross-sectional area of 1.5 mm 2 using the methods stated in [25], [26]. The pulse width specified in this paper is generated by a digital signal processor.…”

Electrical and Electronic Technologies in More-Electric Aircraft: A Review

“…In [112], the current state of interconnected generation in aviation industry and key technological advances that provide feasible interconnection options were discussed, and the interconnected systems can breach certification rules under fault conditions. In order to use light-weight and standards-compliant architectures, fast fault clearing protection is employed as a key enabling technology.…”