Toward More Electric Powertrains in Aircraft:Technical Challenges and Advancements

The main purpose of this article is to provide an instructive review of the technological challenges hindering the road toward more electric powertrains in aircraft.Hybrid,all-electric,and turboelectric powertrain architectures are discussed as possible fuel consumption and weight reduction solutions.Among these architectures,the short-term implementation of hybrid and all-electric architectures is limited,particularly for large-capacity aircraft due to the low energy/power density levels achievable by state-of-the-art electrical energy storage systems.Conversely,turboelectric architectures with advanced distributed propulsion and boundary layer ingestion are set to lead the efforts toward more electric powertrains.At the center of this transition,power converters and high-power density electric machines,i.e.,electric motors and generators,and their corresponding thermal management systems are analyzed as the key devices enabling the more electric powertrain.Moreover,to further increase the fuel efficiency and power density of the aircraft,the benefits and challenges of implementing higher voltage powertrains are described.Lastly,based on the findings collected in this article,the projected roadmap toward more electric aircraft powertrains is presented.Herein,the individual targets for each technology,i.e.,batteries,electric machines,and power converters,and how they translate to future aircraft prototypes are illustrated.

Control-Based Stabilization of DC Microgrid for More Electric Aircraft

Electrifying the on-board subsystems of aircraft becomes an inevitable process as being faced with the environmental pollution,along with the proposed concept called more electric aircraft(MEA).With the increasing number of on-board power electronic based devices,the distribution system of the aircraft can be regarded as an onboard microgrid.As it is known that the load power electronic converters can exhibit constant power load(CPL)characteristics and reduce the system stability,it is necessary to accurately predict and enhance the system stability in designing process.This paper firstly analyzes the stability of an on-board DC microgrid with the presence of CPL.Then,discusses the reasons behind instability and proposes a control strategy to enhance system stability.Finally,the simulation results are worked out to validate the analysis and the effect of the proposed control strategy.

Modeling and Simulation of Electrical System in More Electric Civil Aircraft Considering Faults

Based on the integrated design and airworthiness verification of civil aircraft system,this paper completes the simulation modeling and fault modeling of aircraft electrical system. The aircraft electrical system is constructed in the form of dual generators and dual-channel power supply. The main power supply adopts the three-stage power generation system,the auxiliary power supply system uses the permanent magnet synchronous power generation system and a battery. The transmission and distribution system is responsible for the electrical power conversion and the logic control in the system fault-pattern. The simulation results show that the system is reasonable and effective,which provides a reference for the optimal design and control of the actual aircraft electrical system.

NOVEL AIRCRAFT ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM BASED ON DISTRIBUTED COMPUTER

As a matured technique used in many fields,the distributed computer system is still a new management method for the aeronautical electrical power distribution system in our country. In this paper, a novel aircraft electrical power distribution system based on the distributed computer system is proposed. The principles, features and structure of the aircraft electrical power distribution system and the distributed computer system named electrical load management system (ELMS) are studied. The ELMS composed of four electrical load management centers (ELMCs) and two power source processors (PSPs) operates in the 1553B buses. Principles of the ELMCs and the PSPs are introduced. With the application of the distributed computer system, the aircraft electrical power distribution system is simple, adaptable and flexible.

Feasibility of a New Ironless-stator Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Machine for Aircraft Electric Propulsion Application

With the development of aviation electrification,higher demands for electrical machines are put forward in aircraft electric propulsion systems.The aircraft electric propulsion requirements and propulsion motor features are analyzed in this paper.Comparing with conventional PM machines,ironless stator axial flux permanent magnet(AFPM)machine topologies with Litz wire windings allow designs with higher compactness,lightness and efficiency,which are suitable for high-frequency and high-power density applications.Based on the motor requirements and constraints of aircraft electric propulsion systems,this paper investigates a high-power 1 MW multi-stack ironless stator AFPM machine,which is composed of four 250kW modular motors by stacking in axial.The design guidelines and special attentions are presented,in term of electromagnetic,thermal,and mechanical performance for the high-frequency coils and Halbach-array PM rotor.Finally,an ironless stator AFPM motor is manufactured,tested and evaluated with the consideration of cost and processing cycle.The results show that the output power is up to 53.8kW with 95%efficiency at 9000r/min at this stage.The proposed ironless stator AFPM machine with oil immersed forced cooling proves to be a favorable candidate for application in electric aircraft as propulsion motors.

Aircraft Observations of Electrical Conductivity in Warm Clouds

Aircraft observations of electrical conductivity and cloud microphsical, dynamical and other electrical parameters were made in warm stratocumulus and cumulus clouds forming during the summer monsoon seasons (June-September) of 1983 and 1985 in the Deccan Plateau region, India. A Gerdien type cylindrical condenser was used for the measurement of electrical conductivity. The variations in the electrical conductivity are observed to be closely associated with the updrafts and downdrafts in the cloud, liquid water content, cloud droplet charge and corona discharge current. The value of electrical conductivity in warm clouds is found to be in the order of 10-12 ohm-1 m-1 which is two orders higher than that observed in clear-air at cloud-base levels in some regions by other investigators.Classical static electricity concepts predict reduced conductivity values inside clouds. Cloud electrical conductivity measurements, particularly in warm clouds are few and the results are contradictory. The recently identified mechanism of vertical mixing in clouds lends support to convective charge separation mechanism with inherent larger than clear-air values for cloud electrical conductivity and therefore consistent with the measurements reported herein.

Overview and Analysis of PM Starter/Generator for Aircraft Electrical Power Systems

More Electrical Aircraft(MEA)which replaces the hydraulic and pneumatic power by electrical power leads to reducing emissions and fuel consumption.The MEA concept has led to a growing use of the starter/generator(S/G)system.Permanent magnet(PM)machines have been gaining interests for aircraft S/G system application over the last few years.This is mainly due to the several advantages,including high power density,high efficiency and high speed ability.The shortcoming of the PM machines is the de-­excitation problem in case of a failure,which is a main issue for the aircraft application.However,by using a PM machine with high reactance or multiphase configuration,the fault-­tolerant ability can be improved.In terms of the aircraft S/G system,this paper is going to present a comprehensive analysis of PM machines.Firstly,the state-­of-­the-­art of PM starter/generator(PMS/G)is summarized and the basic structure of PMS/G system is analyzed.Next,key technologies of the PMS/G system are summarized and analyzed.Finally,a flux weakening fault protection strategy that is used to suppress the turn-­to-­turn short circuit(SC)current is studied,simulated and verified.With the breakthrough of key technologies based on the development of high temperature electromagnetic material and high temperature power electronics,the PMS/G will be a potential candidate for aircraft S/G system including the embedded power generation system.

Investigation of Nonlinear PI Multi-loop Control Strategy for Aircraft HVDC Generator System with Wound Rotor Synchronous Machine

In order to enhance the transient performance of aircraft high voltage DC(HVDC)generation system with wound rotor synchronous machine(WRSM)under a wide speed range,the nonlinear PI multi-loop control strategy is proposed in this paper.Traditional voltage control method is hard to achieve the dynamic performance requirements of the HVDC generation system under a wide speed range,so the nonlinear PI parameter adjustment,load current feedback and speed feedback are added to the voltage and excitation current double loop control.The transfer function of the HVDC generation system is derived,and the relationship between speed,load current and PI parameters is obtained.The PI parameters corresponding to the load at certain speed are used to shorten the adjusting time when the load suddenly changes.The dynamic responses in transient processes are analyzed by experiment.The results illustrate that the WRSM HVDC generator system with this method has better dynamic performance.

All-Electric Aircraft Nose Wheel Steering System with Two Worm Gears

As all-electric aircraft has many advantages,an aircraft nose wheel steering system would be developed to the all-electric direction.Concerning the control demand of the nose wheel steering system,based on the basic principles of nose wheel steering system and the design technique of mechanotronics,an all-electric aircraft nose wheel steering system,composed of a nose wheel steering mechanism of two worm gear and a control servo system of fly-by-wire with both steering and anti-shimmy functions is designed to meet the demand for operation control in the nose wheel steering system.Then,based on the LMS-AMESim software,the simulation model of the system is established to simulate the dynamics for the verification of its steering function.The simulation results indicate that the nose wheel steering system is reasonable,and can meet the requirements of the general project.Furthermore,the prototypes of the steering mechanism and control system are studied to validate the design,and the steering test bench is prepared to test the designed system.The test results,such as steer angle,rotate speed of motor are analyzed in details and compared with the theoretical results.The analysis and comparison results show that the design is reasonable and the property of the prototype can achieve the design objectives.

氢电-锂电通勤飞机分布式推进系统匹配设计

针对通勤类飞机总体设计参数和飞行任务剖面需求,根据氢电-锂电推进系统架构方案,提出了推进系统参数匹配方法和能源动态平衡管理策略。以19座级通勤飞机作为验证对象,对其动力装置和储备能源进行了选型和管理研究。根据选型的分布式推进气动布局方案,进一步采用全析因试验设计方法分析了螺旋桨转向对飞机气动特性的影响,获得了有利于飞机巡航状态的螺旋桨转向配置方案。

某飞行器便携式简易发射控制装置设计与实现

针对某飞行器传统发射控制装置结构复杂、操控繁琐、可靠性差的现实问题,开展便携式简易发射控制装置总体技术方案设计,基于虚拟仪器技术、构建PXI总线测控平台,采用便携式加固机箱构架、实施功能结构整合;围绕该飞行器射前性能检查和发射控制过程安全可靠要求,开展系统软硬件技术研发,完成硬件设备选型、功能结构设计与电气适配调理,实施射检发控软件功能规划与流程设计。实际使用表明:该发射控制装置结构简明优化、操控安全可靠、保障便捷高效,满足实战化发射要求。

电动飞机蒙皮结构的冲击损伤试验与优化设计

飞机蒙皮结构常受到冰雹、维修碰撞等低能冲击,机身结构易出现损伤,引发飞机性能减退。为了提高蒙皮结构的抗冲击性能,结合Hashin失效准则建立了一种复合材料泡沫夹层结构低速冲击有限元等效模型,并利用超声C扫描对冲击后的复合材料泡沫夹层进行无损检测,试验结果表明,与无损检测结果相比较,模拟结果的误差低于10%,证明了该冲击等效模型的合理性。最后利用该有限元等效模型对某型电动飞机机身复合材料泡沫夹层蒙皮结构进行优化设计,以提高抗冲击能力、减小吸收的破坏能量、降低结构损伤程度为目标,在相同铺层数量下,得到了最优的复合材料泡沫夹层结构铺层设计方案。

飞机电推进系统高效能电机及其驱动控制技术

飞机动力系统的电气化是继机载二次能源逐步统一为电能之后航空电气化发展的重要方向和高级阶段,能够大幅提升飞机动力系统能量利用效率,是航空业绿色发展的重要途径。电机系统是飞机电推进系统的核心机电能量变换环节,高效能电机、电力电子变换及其驱动控制技术是电推进飞机发展的基础支撑。该文从电推进飞机动力系统架构出发,分析电推进飞机电机系统的特征与要求。总结永磁同步电机、异步电机、电励磁无刷同步电机和超导电机4种类型电机在电推进飞机上的研究和应用现状,系统讨论电推进系统中不同类型电机和电机驱动器的关键技术。最后,展望新材料、新器件、新工艺、人工智能和综合热管理等技术对电推进飞机电机及其驱动控制技术发展的推动作用。

双绕组感应发电机交直流集成发电系统的自抗扰控制策略

针对双绕组感应发电机交直流集成发电系统,为实现简单易调、性能优越、负载适应力强的发电控制,该文提出一种基于线性自抗扰控制器的交直流电压控制策略,通过交流电压和直流电压与控制绕组和功率绕组的传递函数模型,构建交直流电压的线性扩张状态观测器,同时对交流电压有效值、直流电压和电压扰动进行观测,并利用电压和扰动观测值设计线性误差反馈控制律,对交直流电压进行控制。最后,通过仿真和实验验证该控制策略提高电压扰动抑制能力和负载适应性,同时各模块参数可独立设计、控制器结构简单,避免需要较多传感器及降低调参难度。

考虑电系统热限制的倾转翼eVTOL巡航性能优化

为分析倾转翼eVTOL在考虑电系统热管理对巡航性能的影响,以及不同工况下性能参数的选择,根据飞机二维动力学、阻力、能耗和电系统热管理计算模型,以飞机巡航速度作为控制变量,以巡航时间和电能消耗作为目标函数,建立倾转翼eVTOL巡航仿真模型。结合实际飞行条件设定不同权重,根据模型的具体特征,基于改进粒子群算法进行优化求解,以典型倾转翼eVTOL飞机Vahana为例,得出性能参数并对比分析。仿真结果表明:模型在各种权重组合下,对减少飞机巡航时间和降低电能消耗均有良好的优化效果;最快到达与最节能到达的飞行工况相比,可以节省约50%的时间,但同时会多消耗120%的电耗;与既考虑时间又考虑能耗的折中情况相比,节省了20%时间的同时能会多消耗28%的电能。

基于迁移学习的飞机线束模板图纸识别模型研究

针对航空电气线路互联系统(EWIS)线束模板图纸在更改时的识别与分类问题,设计了一种基于迁移学习的飞机线束模板图纸内容分类方法。由现有的线束模板图纸建立线束模板图纸元素数据集,选定VGG-16网络作为基础网络进行改进,优化模型结构与参数。为了解决数据集规模较小并提高模型的识别精度及训练效率的问题,将大规模数据集训练的预训练模型迁移至线束模板图纸元素数据集进行训练,并比较不同迁移学习方式及不同网络结构对模型性能的影响。试验结果表明,微调迁移学习模型具有较高的分类准确度,达到了98.89%。与其他网络相比,该微调迁移学习模型具有更短的训练时长以及更高的识别准确率,具有较好的应用前景。

不同构型电动垂直起降飞行器动力系统的安全性评估

安全性评估对电动垂直起降飞行器的架构开发、安全管理、设计验证及商业化有着至关重要的作用,但目前国内少有对电动垂直起降飞行器整机构型、系统设计等相关的研究。本文针对4种不同构型的电动垂直起降飞行器,包括垂起尾推固定翼构型、四轴八桨多旋翼构型、固定翼加倾转旋翼构型以及倾转机翼构型,使用功能危害分析和故障树分析方法对4种不同构型的动力系统进行了分析比较。分析表明:垂起尾推固定翼电动垂直起降飞行器动力架构在本文的特定使用场景中相对可靠性更优。2种分析方法的结合,增加了对功能危害理解的全面性和深度,并识别了减轻动力系统失效风险的多种潜在途径。安全性评估结果可以为电动垂直起降飞行器动力构型选择和产品开发提供依据。

小型全电/混动飞机技术路线与动力系统综述

该文对小型全电/混动载人飞机的技术发展路线、航空推进电机、动力系统架构进行分析、总结与展望。首先,从载人飞机的气动布局、结构拓扑、动力源和起降形式等方面分析,分出6条技术路线,总结各自的乘客数、最大起飞重量、巡航速度、功率和航程等技术指标。其次,总结已装机或拟装机航空推进电机的技术参数和应用机型。对先进航空推进电机的发展现状,按功率等级分类探讨了三相永磁电机、多相永磁电机、兆瓦级涡轮机驱动的兆瓦级电机/发电机、高温超导电机。最后,对6种动力系统架构的技术路线特点、关键技术进行梳理,分析载人全电/混动飞机未来的发展方向。国内载人电动/混动飞机领域刚起步,该文的研究工作对飞机的总体气动布局设计、功率需求、器件选型、动力系统设计具有重要的参考价值。

燃料串/并联的航空SOFC-GT混合系统性能对比分析

固体氧化物燃料电池-涡轮(SOFC-GT)混合系统作为电推进飞机的动力源时,会面临低温低压的大气环境以及对重量有严苛的要求,因此通过优化系统构型使得该混合系统满足航空应用是一种有效的解决方式。为此本文提出了燃料并联和串联的两种SOFC-GT混合系统构型,并从热力循环理论、系统热力学性能以及系统功重比等方面依次对其进行了对比分析。结果表明,并联系统的热力学性能要优于串联系统,对于系统发电效率、比功和功重比分别提高3.32%,113.14%和34.04%,CO_(2)排放率降低3.22%。随压比的提升串联系统的效率存在最优点,随燃烧室温度的提升并联系统的效率持续下降。在空燃比为4~6的变化范围内,串联系统的输出功率变化幅度更大,相对并联系统为116.29%~87.11%。除此之外,虽然SOFC-GT混合系统的功重比相对较低,但基于其优异的效率,在系统能量密度方面整体要优于锂电池,这有利于提升电推进飞机的性能。