Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IDEN (Innovative Distributed Electrical Network)

Teaser

With the advent of high fuel prices, the global warming problem and high operating costs there has been a marked trend within the aerospace industry to move towards cleaner, more efficient and lower maintenance aircraft design.One of the prime movers in this arena is the...

Summary

With the advent of high fuel prices, the global warming problem and high operating costs there has been a marked trend within the aerospace industry to move towards cleaner, more efficient and lower maintenance aircraft design.

One of the prime movers in this arena is the substantial electrification of the aircraft to replace hydraulic or pneumatic functions with electrical ones, as in the concepts of the More Electric Aircraft (MEA) and of the All Electric Aircraft (AEA).

Dependent on aircraft size the current electrical power requirements range from a few kW up to 800kW for the A380 and 1400kW for the B787. To achieve the required higher power ratings in a feasible way, innovative Primary and Secondary Electrical Distribution Network architectures investigated over recent years include intelligent/smart power management systems, the presence of at least one high-voltage dc bus (HVDC, typically 270Vdc or +/-270Vdc) plus a low-voltage dc bus (LVDC, 28Vdc). The LVDC bus is typically generated through bi-directional power converters to interconnect and manage power transfer between the two bus levels, also enabling the addition of energy storage devices, such as batteries, super-capacitors or fuel-cells.

The IDEN project will deliver an innovative solid-state based electrical power distribution network system representative of future Regional A/C and will become an integral part of the Regional A/C Iron Bird test rig.
The innovative electrical power distribution network will be part of a highly decentralized, modular and flexible, smart-grid, EPDS and will be equipped with enhanced electrical energy management functionalities in order to reduce or even delete the overload capabilities of the main generators thus saving weight and reducing fuel consumption.

Another key objective is safe and reliable distribution and protection of the electrical generation system and user equipment; with a focus on smart load management (E2-EM), system efficiency, weight reduction, improvement of modularity and reduction of the maintenance costs.
The above reported targets all contribute to the Clean Sky objectives for greener aviation, resulting in reduction of fuel usage and therefore of emissions.

Better fuel usage will result in lower operational costs and better performances thus justifying the adoption of the innovative power distribution system for the Regional A/C and creating market opportunities for the European industry in face of emerging competitors in line with Clean Sky objectives.

Work performed

The project progress and the work carried out during the first reporting period is in line with the project objectives as reported in the Grant Agreement and annexes.

During the first reporting period the work carried out by the project Partners has been focused on the achievement of the objectives of WP1, WP2 and WP3. These correspond to:

- WP1-Requirements analysis: review of the TM requirements, derivation of system and equipment requirements, evaluation and assessment of installation and safety constraints, definition of system and sub-systems configuration.

- WP2-Preliminary design: validation of equipment requirements and check of consistency with the preliminary design. System and sub-systems architecture definition according to performance, energy management, safety requirements. Design choices substantiation, functional blocks preliminary sizing, interface definition.

- WP3-Detailed design: detailed electrical, mechanical, thermal design and development of system/sub-systems designs ready for manufacture (detailed CAD drawings, energy management controls, supervision, etc.)

- WP7-Project Management: started at kick-off ran smoothly during the first reporting period.

Dissemination and communication activities are in progress employing professional socials (like LinkedIn for example) to publish project events and achievements.

BLU has shown a poster illustrating the IDEN project during the recent Salon Du Bourget (17÷23 June 2019).

Final results

In the past years, several research and development programmes have initiated the concept of the More Electric Aircraft and All Electric Aircraft. The POA FP5 and MOET FP6 projects have demonstrated on flight platforms the effectiveness of the advanced on-board energy power management systems.

The MEA and AEA approaches have been in development for several years and generators often switch from constant frequency to 3-phase wild frequency networks and cannot be paralleled. High voltage and mesh networks have been investigated to enable parallel sources and reduced system weight. More recently within the FP7 framework projects like AAASP, EPOCAL, REGENESYS, I-PRIMES or TEMGIR have been focused on the development of more efficient and advanced power management technologies in order to reduce the power consumption of the aircraft systems.
Currently in the H2020 framework several programmes are studying improved converters with higher power density HASTECS, improved thermal solutions I2MPECT, advanced energy management systems ENERGIZE and advanced power grids ASPIRE to increase the technology maturity in these areas.

The extension of these developments to the Iron Bird demonstrator must overcome some challenges:
• Highly decentralized smart grid, multiple power inputs multiple loads.
• Enhanced Electrical Energy Management functionalities to reduce or delete generators’ overload capabilities
• Integration in an on-ground demonstrator of the key elements of innovative EPDS on the REG IAPD Iron Bird demonstrator.
• Weight optimization in order to ease the designs to reach TRL6.
• Use of solid-state technology (SSPC) for the contactors and circuit breakers included in both primary and secondary network.

Starting from the above challenges the IDEN project is high on ambition and focused on contributing technological advancements beyond the state-of-the-art with the aim of gaining the necessary maturity level for moving smart grids primary and secondary electrical distribution network for the regional aircraft Iron Bird demonstrator at TRL5.

The mid-term ambition embedded within the programme is to develop the IDEN equipment’s for commercial sale to Regional A/C Manufacturers and other industries requiring similar functionality.

The incorporation of the system and/or sub-systems within future Regional Aircraft will provide a significant impact on aircraft performance, improvement in safety, reduction of maintenance costs, reduction in mass and volume and therefore fuel consumption, noise, carbon footprint and combustion by-products such as NOx thus contributing to Clean Sky 2 objectives. Better fuel usage will result in lower operational costs and better performances thus justifying the adoption of the innovative power distribution system for the Regional A/C and creating market opportunities for the European industry in face of emerging competitors in line with Clean Sky objectives.

IDEN project will mainly contribute to the environment respect and competitiveness objectives of the Clean Sky 2 technology and demonstration activity plan, however IDEN will also contribute to the increase of reliability and availability of the electrical system and connected loads, thus contributing to sustainable mobility through secure, accessible and affordable regional air transport, resulting in social benefits for EU citizens.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/aerospace/projects/cleansky/iden-project.aspx.