Power supply networks for the airport LED lights systems

Abstract

Airport lighting system is an inseparable and compulsory part of every airport, it does not depend if the airport is for visual or non-visual approaches. It means, the airport lighting systems are operated in various types of permissible meteorological conditions. Airport lighting system provides a lot of information for all the phases of flight in the airfield area, mainly for approach and landing phase. For example, the most important information is a course line position, the length and shape of runway, glide path angle, distance to touch down zone (area), thresholds, etc. Airport lighting systems are currently equipped with quarthalogen lamps — incandescent light sources. That is why the energy consumption is a main attribute of theirs. Secondly, there is complicated power supply, because it is necessary to keep the same luminous intensity in the same meaning part of lighting system. Subsequently, parts of airport lighting system are supplied by complicated and expensive constant current regulators (CCR) and with standardized current (6.6 or 8.3Amperes), conducted via serial loops with special cables, connectors and transformers, included into every light. And it is not possible to supply more than one meaning part (lighting subsystems) with the one constant current regulator. Nevertheless, companies offer LED lights which could replace traditional lights in the serial loops, but such solution brings new difficulties. LED light in the serial loop does not behave as the traditional quartz-halogen lamp, it means LED and its driver is not typical resistive circuit. This fact causes troubles in feedbacks in constant current regulators and consequently causes the non-stability in luminous intensity, difficulties in dimming, flashing lights in loop, etc. This paper shows how to supply modern LED airport lights, brings how to design the LED driver according to way of supplying and deals with the design of supply system complying load of LED its power driver. The article also shows advantages and disadvantages of every way of supplying in airport lighting and suggesting the most suitable method of power supplying for LED airport lights.