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Aerospace
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Electric Power Systems and Components for All-Electric Aircraft
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Electric Power Systems and Components for All-Electric Aircraft

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Aeronautics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 3052

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mona Ghassemi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
Interests: transportation electrification; clean energy; electrical insulation materials and systems; high voltage/field engineering and technology; power systems; plasma science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transportation sector generates a remarkable share (the largest share (28%) in the U.S.) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To achieve net-zero emission, all-electric transportation has been targeted, making all-electric cars, trucks, trains, aircraft, and ships a likely realization. While electric vehicles are close to maturity, the aviation industry is in its infancy regarding electrification for commercial aircraft. Large aircraft, including narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, are responsible for more than 75% of aviation GHG emissions; this is likely to worsen with the historical 4–5% annual growth in air travel. There are two categories of aircraft electrification: more electric aircraft (MEA) and all-electric aircraft (AEA). An MEA simply replaces a subsystem, such as a hydraulically driven actuator, with an electric alternative. On the other hand, an AEA is comprised of electrically driven subsystems, as well as having thrust power fully provided by electrochemical energy units (EEUs). For wide-body AEA, this difference is substantial, since the required thrust power is ~25 MW, and non-thrust demands add another 1 MW. This results in significant challenges for optimizing the electric power system (EPS) design for AEA, where the maximum component power density must be achieved by minimizing both mass and volume. The topic of this Special Issue is electric power systems for AEA, and includes topics such as 1) the design and optimization of power systems for AEA, 2) the design, construction, and testing of all components of electric power systems for AEA, such as circuit breakers, power cables, motors, EEUs (battery, fuel cell, supercapacitors, etc.), converters, and storage resources. We are also interested in fundamental/basic research on the influence of low pressures at cruising height on different phenomena such as arc, arc tracking, and partial discharges.

Dr. Mona Ghassemi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • all-electric aircraft
  • power systems
  • circuit breakers
  • power cables
  • motors
  • batteries
  • fuel cells
  • supercapacitors
  • converters
  • storage resources
  • low pressures
  • arc
  • arc tracking
  • partial discharges

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 910 KiB  
Article
Negative Medium-Voltage Direct Current Discharges in Air under Simulated Sub-Atmospheric Pressures for All-Electric Aircraft
by Sai Pavan Kalakonda, Mohammad Hamidieh, Adil Bhojwani and Mona Ghassemi
Aerospace 2024, 11(6), 444; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11060444 - 30 May 2024
Abstract
The increase in the global temperature due to greenhouse gas emissions is a major concern to the world. To achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2050 in the USA the practical realization of all-electric vehicles, particularly all-electric aircraft (AEA), is important. For [...] Read more.
The increase in the global temperature due to greenhouse gas emissions is a major concern to the world. To achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2050 in the USA the practical realization of all-electric vehicles, particularly all-electric aircraft (AEA), is important. For the design of electrical power systems (EPSs) in all-electric aircraft, a bipolar medium-voltage direct current (MVDC) system of ±5 kV is being investigated. However, several challenges manifest when using such voltages in a low-pressure environment. One of the main challenges is the partial discharge (PD) behavior of the insulation. It is important to study the PD behavior of the insulation by simulating the aviation environment in the lab. This work aimed to study the partial discharge behavior of air under a negative DC voltage in a needle-to-plane electrode geometry by simulating the aviation pressures in the lab. The partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) and the breakdown voltage (BDV) show an obvious pressure-dependent variation. Regression analysis was performed to better understand the relationship between the PDIV and pressures. Plots were drawn for the average discharge current at each voltage step until breakdown. This paper’s findings can provide valuable insight into the design of EPS for an AEA. To the best of our knowledge, such a study has not been carried out to date. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electric Power Systems and Components for All-Electric Aircraft)
14 pages, 4740 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of Lithium-Ion Batteries Thermal Runaway Propagation Consequences under Different Triggering Modes
by Juan Yang, Wenhao Liu, Haoyu Zhao and Qingsong Zhang
Aerospace 2024, 11(6), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11060438 - 29 May 2024
Viewed by 188
Abstract
In the stage of aircraft development and airworthiness verification, it is necessary to master the influence of lithium-ion battery (LIB) thermal runaway (TR) propagation. In this paper, the battery TR propagation behavior under different trigger positions and modes is studied experimentally, and the [...] Read more.
In the stage of aircraft development and airworthiness verification, it is necessary to master the influence of lithium-ion battery (LIB) thermal runaway (TR) propagation. In this paper, the battery TR propagation behavior under different trigger positions and modes is studied experimentally, and the calculation and comparison are carried out from the parameters of real-time temperature, voltage, propagation speed, total energy released, and solid ejecta. When the two adjacent cells at the top corner, side, and center of the module are overheated, TR occurs at about 1000 s for the triggered cells, while the whole-overheating trigger mode takes a longer time. The latter’s transmission speed is extremely fast, spreading 2.67 cells per second on average. The heat generated by the solid ejecta of the whole-overheating trigger mode is 82,437 J, which is more destructive. The voltage of the triggered cell fluctuates abnormally in a precursor manner when the internal active substances in the cell undergo a self-generated thermal reaction. This work can provide a reference for the safety and economical design of system installations and the correct setting of airworthiness verification Method of Compliance (MoC) experiments to verify whether the aircraft can bear and contain the adverse effects caused by LIB TR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electric Power Systems and Components for All-Electric Aircraft)
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29 pages, 11596 KiB  
Article
Airport Microgrid and Its Incorporated Operations
by Chang-Ming Liaw, Chen-Wei Yang and Pin-Hong Jhou
Aerospace 2024, 11(3), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11030192 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 932
Abstract
This paper presents the development of an airport bipolar DC microgrid and its interconnected operations with the utility grid, electric vehicle (EV), and more electric aircraft (MEA). The microgrid DC-bus voltage is established by the main sources, photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell (FC), [...] Read more.
This paper presents the development of an airport bipolar DC microgrid and its interconnected operations with the utility grid, electric vehicle (EV), and more electric aircraft (MEA). The microgrid DC-bus voltage is established by the main sources, photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell (FC), via unidirectional three-level (3L) boost converters. The proposed one-cycle control (OCC)-based current control scheme and quantitative and robust voltage control scheme are proposed to yield satisfactory responses. Moreover, the PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) with FC energy-supporting approach is developed to have improved renewable energy extraction characteristics. The equipped hybrid energy storage system (HESS) consists of an energy-type battery and a power-type flywheel; each device is interfaced to the common DC bus via its own 3L bidirectional interface converter. The energy-coordinated operation is achieved by the proposed droop control. A dump load leg is added to avoid overvoltage due to an energy surplus. The grid-connected energy complementary operation is conducted using a neutral point clamped (NPC) 3L three-phase inverter. In addition to the energy support from grid-to-microgrid (G2M), the reverse mcrogrid-to-grid (M2G) operation is also conductible. Moreover, microgrid-to-vehicle (M2V) and vehicle-to-microgrid (V2M) bidirectional operations can also be applicable. The droop control is also applied to perform these interconnected operations. For the grounded aircraft, bidirectional microgrid-to-aircraft (M2A)/aircraft-to-microgrid (A2M) operations can be performed. The aircraft ground power unit (GPU) function can be preserved by the developed microgrid. The MEA on-board facilities can be powered by the microgrid, including the 115 V/400 Hz AC bus, the 270 V DC bus, the switched-reluctance motor (SRM) drive, etc. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electric Power Systems and Components for All-Electric Aircraft)
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16 pages, 2542 KiB  
Article
Switching Logic for a Direct Hybrid Electric Powertrain
by Robin Fonk, Tobias Graf, Sven Paeßler, Christiane Bauer, Josef Kallo and Caroline Willich
Aerospace 2024, 11(1), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11010071 - 12 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1399
Abstract
Hybrid electric aircraft with a powertrain based on fuel cells and batteries can reduce climate-active emissions in aviation. In a direct hybrid powertrain, the fuel cell and the battery are connected in parallel, without a DC/DC converter balancing their voltage levels. Switches make [...] Read more.
Hybrid electric aircraft with a powertrain based on fuel cells and batteries can reduce climate-active emissions in aviation. In a direct hybrid powertrain, the fuel cell and the battery are connected in parallel, without a DC/DC converter balancing their voltage levels. Switches make it possible to select different operational modes (fuel cell only, hybrid or battery charging) depending on the power demand during different flight phases. To exploit the high specific energy of hydrogen, the system should change from Hybrid Mode during take-off to Fuel Cell Mode in cruise. During descent, the battery can be charged if Charging Mode is selected. To avoid voltage and current peaks and consequent damage to components when switching between modes, certain conditions must be fulfilled. Those switching conditions were defined, and switching procedures for changing from one mode to the other during flight were developed and tested in a lab system. In a direct hybrid, the system voltage depends on the required power. When switching from Hybrid Mode to Fuel Cell Mode, a short reduction in power of 65% is necessary for the examined system to meet the switching requirements. It is also shown how this power loss can be reduced to 25% by distributed propulsion with a second powertrain or even eliminated by a change in the hybrid ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electric Power Systems and Components for All-Electric Aircraft)
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