Subsystem Design and Integration for the More Electric Aircraft

Abstract

Military and commercial aircraft designers are leading a quiet revolution in the aviation industry. Their goal is an all-electric aircraft that will be controlled by small high speed motors instead of heavy maintenance intensive hydraulic, pneumatic and mechanical systems. This revolutionary usage of electrical power technologies promise military and commercial airframers greater aircraft reliability and a significantly smaller logistical tail to support tomorrow's air and space force. Hence, the More Electric Aircraft (MEA) is becoming a reality. The MEA approach provides for greater integration of subsystem functions. It also provides smarter subsystems without added weight penalties. The MEA approach has created common threads that link most or all subsystems. These threads are: • Electrical power and distribution system • Thermal management system • Integrated health management The focus of this talk will address the integration issues associated with the linkage between electric actuation and the common threads mentioned above. This paper will focus specifically on issues associated with the electromechanical actuator, address the progress of the MEA, while at the same time, discusses the growing popularity of advanced materials that are enabling the MEA. 1.0 General Introduction) Aircraft designers have already reached a milestone – installing MEA technologies in airplanes like the Boeing 787 and various military platforms. These systems represent the first major leap in casting the MEA revolution. They involve the revolutionary application of electrical power systems, electronics, and distributed architectures to simplify much of the existing immensity bulk and complexity inherent in traditional hydraulic and pneumatic aircraft systems. Emphasis now is on giving aircraft designers more optional opportunity of using electrical power over traditional methods. New technology concepts like electric actuation, electric environmental control and electric fuel pumps, along with magnetic bearings for generators and eventually more electric turbine engines, are in the works. These technologies promise dramatic simplifications in aircraft system design, while improving reliability and maintainability in the years to come.