A multiport power conversion system for the more electric aircraft

Chunyang Gu, Hao Yan, Jiajun Yang, Giacomo Sala, Daniele De Gaetano, Xuchen Wang, Alessandro Galassini, Michele Degano, Xin Zhang, Giampaolo Buticchi

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)
26 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In more electric aircraft (MEA), weight reduction and energy efficiency constitute the key figures. In addition, the safety and continuity of operation of its electrical power distribution system (EPDS) are of critical importance. These sets of desired features are in disagreement with each other because higher redundancy, needed to guarantee the safety of operation, implies additional weight. In fact, EPDS is usually divided into isolated sections that need to be sized for the worst case scenario. Several concepts of EPDS have been investigated, aiming at enabling the power exchange among separate sections, which allows better optimization for power and weight of the whole system. In this article, an approach based on the widespread use of multiport power converters for both dc/dc and dc/ac stages is proposed. System integration of these two is proposed as a multiport power conversion system (MPCS), which allows a ring power distribution, while galvanic isolation is still maintained, even in fault conditions. Thus, the redundancy of MEA is established by no significant weight increase. A machine design analysis shows how the segmented machine could offer superior performance to the traditional one with the same weight. Simulation and experimental verifications show the system feasibility in both normal and fault operations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9177094
Pages (from-to)1707-1720
Number of pages14
JournalIEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification
Volume6
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020

Keywords

  • Electrical power distribution system (EPDS)
  • more electric aircraft (MEA)
  • multi-three-phase electrical machines
  • multiport active bridge (MAB)
  • multiport power conversion system (MPCS)
  • segmented driven starter/generators

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Automotive Engineering
  • Transportation
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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