Moving towards a more electric aircraft

Abstract

The latest advances in electric and electronic aircraft technologies from the point of view of an "all-elect~ric" aircraft are presented herein. Specifically, we describe the concept of a "More Electric Aircraft" (MEA), which involves removing the need for on-engine hydraulic power generation and bleed air off-takes, and the increasing use of power electronics in the starter/generation system of the main engine. Removal of the engine hydraulic pumps requires fully-operative electrical power actuators and mastery of the flight control architecture. The paper presents a general overview of the electrical power generation system and electric drives for the MIEA, with special regard to the flight controls. Some discussion regarding the interconnection of nodes and safety of buses and protocols in distributed systems is also presented.

12-Pulse Active Rectifier for More Electric Aircraft Applications

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Evaluation of isolated DC/DC converter topologies for future HVDC aerospace microgrids

“…In fact, electrical systems are replacing hydraulic, mechanical, or pneumatic power sources in a wide range of aerospace applications [3]- [5]. This increase in electrical energy demand has led to a rapid technology development, particularly in power electronics [6]- [8].…”

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“…The MEA will benefit from the reduced maintenance cost and increased reliability by putting more emphasis on the utilization of electrical power instead of hydraulic and pneumatic power [1]. More dc distribution systems are emerging into power grids due to the increasing power electronic interfaced converters.…”