Partial Discharges in Electrical Machines for the More Electrical Aircraft. Part III: Preventing Partial Discharges

Rumi, Alberto; Lusuardi, Luca; Cavallini, A.; Pastura, Marco; Barater, Davide; Nuzzo, Stefano

doi:10.1109/access.2021.3058090

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…It was reported in [91] that electrical machines for actuating primary flight control surfaces have a higher risk of partial discharge. A comprehensive study of partial discharge in onboard electrical machines was conducted, and possible solutions ranging from electrical machines to power electronic devices were provided in [92]. In addition, the effect of partial discharge on high-temperature insulation materials for dc cables was studied and presented in [93].…”

Section: O U T L O O Kmentioning

confidence: 99%

The More-Electric Aircraft and Beyond

2023

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Aviation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. As the adoption of electric cars increases and GHG emissions due to other modes of transport decrease, the impact of air travel on environmental pollution has become even more significant. To reduce pollution and maintenance, and ensure cheaper and more convenient flights, industry and academia have directed their efforts toward aircraft electrification. Considering various types of aircraft, several frameworks have been proposed: more-electric aircraft (MEA), hybrid electric aircraft (HEA), and all-electric aircraft (AEA). In the MEA framework, propulsion is generated by a conventional jet engine; however, all secondary systems (hydraulic, pneumatic, and actuation) are electrified. By further increasing electrification, electric motors can provide propulsion with the electric power supplied by the conventional engine (i.e., HEA) or from electrical energy storage (i.e., AEA). Power electronics and electrical machines play a key role in this scenario in which electric power must be efficiently generated, distributed, and consumed to satisfy extremely high requirements of aviation safety. This article provides an overview of recent advancements in aircraft electrification, and trends and future developments referenced to the global aviation roadmap. KEYWORDS | Electric transportation; more-electric aircraft (MEA); power electronics. I. I N T R O D U C T I O NAir transportation is the enabler of modern globalization and the backbone of mail and goods transportation.

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Section: O U T L O O Kmentioning

confidence: 99%

The More-Electric Aircraft and Beyond

2023

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“…However, the effects of PDs and the ageing estimation on more complex systems have been studied in the literature. Research in this area has also investigated the possibility of estimating the ageing of entire randomly wound stators by measuring easily accessible quantities and studying the macroscopic effects of PDs acting on thermal [52, 53,56,57] and electrical ageing [58][59][60], such as variations in impedance and high-frequency currents. In particular, of interest is to analyse the phase current in both time domain and high frequency spectra, as well as the high frequency impedance or the insulation capacitance.…”

Section: Macroscopic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of PWM Voltage Waveforms in High-Speed Drives: A Survey on High-Frequency Motor Models and Partial Discharge Phenomenon

et al. 2022

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The insulation system’s dielectric of the electric motor is very often subjected to severe electrical stress generated by the high dv/dt seen at the machine’s terminals. The electrical stress and high reflected wave transient overvoltage are even more evident in case of high-speed machines fed by high-frequency (HF) converters featuring very fast wide-bandgap devices. They are promoting the occurrence of partial discharges and consequently accelerate ageing. As this is serious issue and the main cause of the drive failure, it is important to analyse and characterise the surges at the motor terminals. Several HF models of motors have been proposed in the literature for this purpose. This article presents a survey on HF motor models, which is crucial in understanding and studying the most critical parameter identification and overvoltage mitigation techniques. Moreover, it offers a comparison of the models’ main features as well as a comparison with the experimental voltage waveform at motor terminals. A general overview of the partial discharge (PD) phenomenon is also provided, as it is favoured by HF operation and together with HF motor modelling provides key insights to the insulation ageing issue. In particular, an analysis of the effects of PWM waveform affecting insulation is given, as well as useful methods for developing strategies for the inspection and maintenance of winding insulation.

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“…Partial discharges in electrical machines represent an important issue for systems' reliability, especially in the context of a more electric aircraft where the combination of fast switching devices and long cables between power electronics converters can cause non-negligible overvoltage and lead to premature failures [35,36]. A complete study related to the electric insulation issue and especially the partial discharges that may appear with high-voltage-fed machines was achieved in Philippe Collin's thesis [21].…”

Section: Partial Discharges Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of the Actuation System of a Hybrid Electric Aircraft Powertrain

et al. 2021

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In the context of hybrid electric and full electric powertrains for future less-pollutant aircrafts, this paper focuses on the multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) of the actuation system, including a surface-mounted PMSM in order to maximize the power density of the device: this study is a preliminary approach before integrating the whole powertrain. After an introduction of the MDO context, the analytical model of the electric motor is detailed. It integrates multi-physical aspects (electric, magnetic, mechanical, thermal, partial discharges and insulation, control and flight mission) and takes several heterogeneous design constraints into account. The optimization method involves a genetic algorithm allowing the reduction of the actuation weight with regard to a wide set of constraints. The results show the crucial sensitivity of the electro-thermal coupling, especially the importance of transient modes during flight sequences due to thermal capacitance effects. Another major point is related to the performance of the thermal cooling, which requires the introduction of an “internal cooling” in the stator slots in addition to the “base cooling” for stator and rotor. Gathering these analyses, the MDO leads to high power density actuators beyond 15 kW/kg with high-voltage–high-speed solutions, satisfying all design constraints (insulation, thermal, magnet demagnetization) over the flight mission.

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Partial Discharges in Electrical Machines for the More Electrical Aircraft. Part III: Preventing Partial Discharges

Cited by 29 publications

References 24 publications

The More-Electric Aircraft and Beyond

The More-Electric Aircraft and Beyond

Impact of PWM Voltage Waveforms in High-Speed Drives: A Survey on High-Frequency Motor Models and Partial Discharge Phenomenon

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of the Actuation System of a Hybrid Electric Aircraft Powertrain

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