Optimal Weight Power System Design and Synthesis for More Electric Aircraft

Abstract

The synthesis of power distribution architecture for More Electric Aircraft requires optimization of weight in order to reduce energy consumption. Optimal weight of the power distribution system of the aircraft mainly depends on compliance of stringent safety requirements, as well as component selection and location. Safety is dictated by the reliability constraints that ensures distribution adequacy to maintain critical loads powered at all times. Optimal component selection and location is a combinatorial problem that determines a set of interconnected devices located in specific positions such that the resultant topology has minimum weight. Given the complexity in producing and solving such optimization formulation, this paper realizes a linear optimization design that is subject to reliability constraints to comply with safety requirements, and component selection and location constraints such that the weight of the electrical distribution system is minimized. The design formulation is presented as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming problem and a case study is used to exemplify the synthesis of a power distribution architecture that is optimal.