The More-Electric Aircraft and beyond

Giampaolo Buticchi, Pat Wheeler, Dushan Boroyevich

    Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

    81 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)356-370
    Number of pages15
    JournalProceedings of the IEEE
    Volume111
    Issue number4
    Early online date9 Mar 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished Online - 9 Mar 2022

    Keywords

    • Aerospace electronics
    • Aircraft
    • Aircraft propulsion
    • Electric transportation
    • Engines
    • Hydraulic systems
    • Power electronics
    • Reliability
    • more-electric aircraft (MEA)
    • power electronics.

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Computer Science
    • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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