Optimal Design and Synthesis of MEA Power System Architectures Considering Reliability Specifications

Angel A Recalde,Jason A Atkin,Serhiy V Bozhko

doi:10.1109/tte.2020.3002875

Abstract

Aircraft electrification requires novel designs to supply the growing demand for electric power onboard through efficient and reliable production and distribution of electrical energy. Moreover, the aircraft power system will be a key enabler for the integration of future technologies. Pledging to these intentions, we propose a formulation to synthesize a power system architecture that complies with safety specifications following a platform-based design methodology that optimizes the main aerospace drivers. Due to the nonlinear nature of the design problem, this article presents reliability-based MILP network design formulations for topology synthesis. The novelty of this approach relies on the adoption of network design optimization for MEA power system construction that allows explicit design formulations as MILP problems. This approach will provide an effective way to include safety specifications by introducing reliability and resiliency constraints.

Highlights

THE aircraft’s Electric Power Distribution System (EPDS) is a network that provides electrical power from the onboard sources to the loads
The aim of this work is to present an optimization-based design framework that has the potential of synthesizing a More Electric Aircraft (MEA) EPDS architecture such that it complies with a set of safety specifications to supply critical loads under failure conditions
There are an important number of MEA applications and EPDS network structures (DC, AC, AC & DC, single bus, ring, etc.), we provide a complete design assessment for a small-aircraft MEA DC EPDS architecture so that the designer can perceive the potential of our design framework proposal for other applications

Summary

Introduction

THE aircraft’s Electric Power Distribution System (EPDS) is a network that provides electrical power from the onboard sources (engine-driven generators, back-up systems, ground supplies, etc.) to the loads. The aim of this work is to present an optimization-based design framework that has the potential of synthesizing a MEA EPDS architecture such that it complies with a set of safety specifications to supply critical loads under failure conditions (representing a set of requirements from the standard). The proposed framework will address an investigation of reliability-based design formulations for the synthesis of MEA EPDS architectures considering the main aerospace drivers, i.e. safety, cost, weight, and efficiency. This approach pretends to extent the few contributions available combining a design framework with MILP reliability-centered optimization.

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Conclusion