Issues being addressed
With the overall objective to reduce CO2 emissions for aviation and the reduction of the overall costs of building, operating, and maintaining aircraft, one of the key enablers towards this objective, is the adoption of higher levels of electrification on aircraft. This higher level of electrification, more commonly known as More Electric Aircraft (MEA), looks at replacing traditional non electrical systems with lighter and more efficient electrical alternatives.
As a consequence of this progression towards MEA, there is an increasing requirement for power conversion methods in the power distribution network, which provide high density, and higher levels of efficiency. By replacing a traditional passive system with active power conversion, weight and power density of each power conversion stage can be significantly reduced, thus leading to reduction in system weight and costs.
Benefits
The introduction of standard modular power systems in generation and distribution applications, will yield a number of benefits for airframe manufacturers, around lower cost solutions, improved reliability, and lower weight. The reduction in weight will have a direct impact on fuel consumption providing direct financial benefits to the airliner as well as the resulting environmental benefits. The cost reductions from reduced maintenance and overall system costs, will assist in reducing the overall costs of air travel with the subsequent societal benefits.
Objectives
The objectives of the AMPS project is to demonstrate the use of integrated hybrid power modules in the design of aircraft power converters. The project aims to show that by using a standardized power module for various converter topologies, how this will result in numerous benefits, including higher power density, lower cost, and higher reliability. The first part of the project entails the design and manufacture of a family of power modules which will form the building blocks for different power converter types which can be used in commercial aircraft power distribution applications.
The second part of the project is the demonstration of the use of one of these power module types, developed in the first part of the project. This module will be used as the principle building block for a matrix contactor converter. This demonstrator will show the benefits of the modular approach, including small size, higher efficiency and ease of integration into the power distribution system.
Conclusions
The AMPS project has led to the development of the first baseless power modules qualified to aerospace standards. The application of silicon carbide baseless modules in a HVDC contact switch matrix for aerospace power distributions, has demonstrated how higher efficiency, reduced size and reduced weight can be achieved versus traditional aerospace power conversion and distribution systems.
