More Electric Air Car FT Research
More Electric Air Car FT Research
Jon Clare
Professor of Power Electronics
Head of Power Electronics, Machines and Control Group
Electrical Systems and Optics Research Division
Introduction
What is a More Electric
Aircraft (MEA)?
Why is there so much
interest in MEA?
Examples of the
challenges we are
addressing at
Nottingham?
Jet Fuel
Gearbox
driven
generators
Electrical
200kW
High pressure
air bleed
from engine
Pneumatic
1.2MW
Gearbox
driven
hydraulic
pump
Hydraulic
240kW
Fuel pumps
and oil pumps
on engine
Mechanical
100kW
Concept
Jet Fuel
Rationalisation of
power networks
Remove Pneumatic,
Hydraulic and
Mechanical networks
Bleedless engine
Existing
electrical
loads
Propulsion
Thrust
Engine
driven
generators
ELECTRICAL
Cabin pressurisation
Air conditioning
Icing protection
Expanded electrical
network
ELECTRICAL
Surface actuation
Landing gear
Braking + Doors
ELECTRICAL
Fuel pumping
Engine Ancillaries
Bleedless engine
Improved efficiency
Re-configurability
maintain functionality during faults
OVERALL
Reduced operating costs
Reduced fuel burn
Reduced environmental impact
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0
200
Conventional aircraft
400
600
800
Huge network
Easy to control
Individual loads have little influence on the
system (usually unless many act at the
same time!)
220kW
Single loads can have significant influence on the generator (and the
engine driving it)
Some research topics for Nottingham
How to configure network?
How to model network?
How to ensure stable operation?
How to deal with faults?
Generator output
Frequency wild AC
(frequency varies with engine speed)
Constant voltage
Controlled voltage
Generator
Power Converter
Matches load and generator and
allows load to be controlled
Power Electronics
Nottingham is good at this!
amongst the World leaders
Load
Power Electronics has been the KEY enabling technology for MEA
Advances in power electronics have made it possible to power and
control loads electrically that were impossible before
BUT the technology is still not good enough to capitalise fully on the
potential benefits of MEA
Electrical Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Thermal Engineers
Semiconductor Physicists
Materials Scientists
Metallurgists
Mathematicians
Summary
More Electric Aircraft concept offers huge potential for future air
transport
Research spans:
Expertise spans:
END
Thank you