OBJECTIVE:

The main objective of this seminar is to give a brief idea of “Aircraft

electrical system”

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 CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Components of aircraft electrical system
• Functioning of the system
• References

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 INTRODUCTION
An Aircraft Electrical System is a self contained network of components
that generate, transmit, distribute, utilize and store electrical energy.

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 COMPONENTS
An Aircraft Electrical System mainly composed of :
• Power Sources
• Control devices
• Conversion devices
• Protection devices
• Power distribution system
• Electrical Loads

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 POWER SOURCE
These are classified into two groups:
1.Batteries
2.Generators
BATTERIES : A Battery is a device that converts chemical energy
into electrical energy.

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• The main functions of batteries are :

1. To Provide power when no other power source is available

2. To assist in damping transient loads in the dc system

• Capacity of battery is measured in Ampere-Hours

• Majority of aircrafts use mainly two types of batteries. They are

a. Lead acid b. Nickel Cadmium

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Lead acid battery

Fig.1 Lead acid battery

Anode: Lead Oxide
Fig.2 Lead acid battery
Cathode : Lead

• Each cell in this battery has a capacity of 2.2v but taken as 2v.
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Nickel cadmium battery

Fig.3 Nickel cadmium battery

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Generators:
• A Generator is a device which converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy by electromagnetic induction

• Generator is driven by an engine or a motor

• Generators are of two Types: a. DC Generators

b. AC Generators

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• DC Generator: Gives constant voltage normally 28v dc is used

• AC Generator : Gives alternating voltage. Alternators produce three

phase current and standard aircraft voltage is 115v ac with 400 Hz

• Mainly two types of generators are used in aircraft

1.Constant frequency integrated drive generator(IDG)

2.Variable speed constant frequency(VSCF)

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 Power Generation Control
• The power generated by generators is controlled by generator control
unit

• The main functions of this unit are:

a. Act as voltage regulator

b. Direct current to battery for recharging

c. Provides circuit and generator protection by disconnecting

generators from the system when abnormalities occur

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 Control devices
• The devices are used to initiate and control the operation of the
circuits.

• Control devices include:

a . Switches

b . Relays

c . Rheostats

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 Conversion Devices
• There are many situation in aircraft electrical system where there is a
need to convert the power from one form to another form

• Typical cases of power conversion are:

a. Conversion from dc power to ac power and vice versa

b. Conversion from 115v ac to 28v ac

c. Battery charging (118v ac to 28v dc)

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The devices used for this power conversion are:

1.Transformers :Used to change ac voltage level

2.Rectifiers :Used to convert ac to dc

3.Transformer-Rectifier units :Combination of transformers and

rectifiers used as main unit to convert alternator output to in

an aircraft

4.Inverters :Used to convert 28v dc power to 26v ac or 115v ac

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 Protection Devices
• These devices are used to protect circuits, devices, systems components
and cables from damage due to failures

• Some of protection devices are :

a. Fuses : Protects from short circuit and excess currents

b. Circuit breakers : Same as fuses but these are resettable

c. Diodes : Allows the current to flow in one direction

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 Electrical Distribution System

• Electrical distribution system is necessary to convey electrical power to

the equipments and system that need it

• Busbars : In most of the aircrafts output from generators is sent to

one or more conductors before distribution through out the system.
These conductors are called busbars and they act as distribution centre
for different loads

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 Fig.4: Bus bar system
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 Electrical loads
Different types of electrical loads in aircraft are:

a. Motors

b. Lighting services:

1.Interior Lights: position lights, landing/taxi lights, Inspection lights

2.Exterior lights

c. Heating services
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 Functioning of the system

First the power is generated by using generators. The generators are

started with the help of engines. Then The distributed power is
transferred to various places with the help of bus bar system. These
busbar systems acts as a distribution centres to various loads.

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• X. Zhao, J. M. Guerrero and X. Wu, “Review of aircraft electric power systems and
architectures,” Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE International energy conference (Energycon),
2016.
• Chen, J., Wang, C., & Chen, J. (2018). Investigation on the Selection of Electric Power System
Architecture for Future More Electric Aircraft. IEEE Transactions on Transportation
Electrification, 4(2), 563–576. doi:10.1109/tte.2018.2792332
• Q. Xu, P. Wang, J. Chen, C. Wen, M. Y. Lee, “A module-based approach for stability analysis of
complex more-electric aircraft power system,” IEEE Trans. Transp. Electrifi., vol. 3, no. 4, pp.
901-919, 2017.
• ] Y. Zhang, R. Su, C. Wen, M. Y. Lee, C. Gajanayake, “Distributed power allocation and scheduling
for electrical power system in more electric aircraft,” in Proc. 42nd Annual Conf. IEEE Ind.
Electron. Soc.(IECON), 2016, Florence, Italy, pp. 102-107.
• Y. Huangfu, S. Pang, B. N. Mobarakeh, L. Guo, A. K. Rathore, F. Gao, “Stability analysis and active
stabilization of on-board power converter system with input filter,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron.,
vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 790-799, 2018.
• Schrotter, M., Breda, R., Andoga, R., & Fozo, L. (2018). The Evolution of the Aircraft Electric
Power Systems. 2018 International IEEE Conference and Workshop in Óbuda on Electrical and
Power Engineering (CANDO-EPE). doi:10.1109/cando-epe.2018.8601156

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