The All-Electric Aircraft: A Systems View and Proposed NASA Research Programs

The previous papers have offered the distant vision of an all-electric aircraft?one which fully exploits the intrinsic features of electric power and electronic controls. This paper examines the path to that vision and the barriers along the way?some of which appear relatively easy to overcome while others are more formidable. It is interesting to conjecture what an all-electric aircraft will look like. The all-electric technologies may offer many design options and this paper suggests some tantalizing possibilities. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sponsored or conducted a number of activities to foster the development of an all-electric airplane. The results of these activities are presented. Finally, in a look to the future, two NASA new initiatives are briefly discussed.     

Electromechanical Actuation Technology for the All-Electric Aircraft

Electromechanical actuation is a critical element that must be developed and verified to make the all-electric aircraft a viable concept. For several years the Flight Control Division of the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories has sponsored activities to demonstrate the credibility of electromechanical actuation systems (EMAS) for primary flight control actuation functions. The foundation for these EMAS activities and several electromechanical actuation development programs are described here. One involves the design, fabrication, and laboratory test of a rotary, hingeline electromechanical actuator. Another involves the development and flight test demonstration of a linear electromechanical actuator for controlling an aileron of a C-141 aircraft. A third involves the design and development of a linear electromechanical actuator for missiles having severe performance, temperature, and volumetric requirements. In addition, a brief summary of the results from two aircraft actuation trade studies compare the baseline (conventional) hydraulic flight control system with an all-electric airplane concept including quantitative comparisons of weight, reliability and maintainability, and life cycle costs.     

DIMA架构下飞机全电刹车系统故障传播行为分析与评估

在DIMA平台开放性体系架构的背景下,飞机航电与机电等系统功能逐渐渗透融合,面向DIMA架构的全电刹车系统是未来飞机刹车系统的主流设计趋势,但目前尚未形成针对DIMA架构下全电刹车系统的故障传播行为分析与评估方法。针对上述问题,首先结合DIMA架构特征和全电刹车相关标准,分析面向DIMA架构下的全电刹车系统分层架构,在此基础上构建全电刹车系统任务-功能-资源层次模型。其次,考虑到DIMA平台资源共享的特点,结合系统层次模型开展系统耦合关联分析,引入Floyd算法计算间接耦合矩阵以及路由矩阵,通过构造失效严重程度矩阵量化系统关联耦合度,建立系统故障传播结构模型,综合考虑故障路径传播概率和系统边缘介数,构建DIMA架构下全电刹车系统故障传播强度模型,以识别系统故障传播关键路径,完成故障传播行为分析与评估。最后通过实例分析,以验证所提方法的正确性与合理性。     

Motor drive technologies for the power-by-wire (PBW) program:options, trends and tradeoffs. I. Motors and controllers

The Power-By-Wire (PEW) program involves the replacement of hydraulic and pneumatic systems currently used in aircraft with an all-electric secondary power system. One of the largest loads of the all-electric secondary power system will be the motor loads which include pumps, compressors and Electrical Actuators (EAs). Issues of improved reliability, reduced maintenance and efficiency, among other advantages, are the motivation for replacing the existing aircraft actuators with electrical actuators. The EA system contains the motor, the power electronic converters, the actuator and the control system, including the sensors. This paper and a companion paper give a comparative literature review in motor drive technologies, with a focus on the trends and tradeoffs involved in the selection of a particular motor drive technology. The reported research comprises the induction motor (IM), the brushless dc motor (BLDCM) and the switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive technologies. Each of the three drives has the potential for application in the PEW program. Many issues remain to be investigated and compared between the three motor drives, using actual mechanical loads expected in the PBW program     

一种电动飞机概念方案的参数设计方法

为了准确地进行电动飞机概念方案的设计评估,从其自身特征出发,结合任务需求和不同飞行阶段的能耗分析,建立了全机总质量评估模块;为了完成方程的封闭和满足必要的飞行性能约束,建立了参数矩阵图模块;搭建的设计系统可以有效评估起飞总质量、翼载荷、功率载荷和翼展等总体参数。基于该系统,对国内外三款电动飞机进行设计和对比分析:不同机型下,程序所得的各项质量、翼面积、展长和翼载荷等均与实际数据相近;各项数据对比的绝对数值差异反映出对于任务的模拟和能耗在合理范围之内,且其相对误差对于初级设计阶段的总体参数评估而言,也是可以接受的。这些研究结果不仅验证了本文设计方法的正确性和可行性,还表明了该方法可为电动飞机初步的参数选定和性能评估提供重要的设计支撑。      

The All-Electric Fighter Airplane Flight Control Issues, Capabilities, and Projections

The prime issues raised in any all-electric airplane discussion are (1) is the electric power system as reliable and trustworthy as a hydraulic power system; (2) can electromechanical flight control actuators perform satisfactorily, i.e., can the performance match that of hydraulic actuators; (3) can redundant electromechanical actuation systems (EMAS) be designed to equal the flight safety reliability of dual tandem hydraulic actuators; and (4) can satisfactory solutions be found or developed for dissipating the heat generated in actuators and power controllers. The first question should be inconsequential since it is assumed that the all-electric aircraft will be equipped with a fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system (FCS) which is already dependent upon an uninterrupted supply of electrical power. Design studies and hardware already developed show that the answer to question (2) is that EMAS outperform hydraulic actuators, particularly under load. The answer to question (3) is not as clear primarily because the issue has not been addressed in any depth. As posed the answer must be yes, but with the proviso that the weight might be greater than currently predicted. Studies have shown that we can cope with the heat dissipation issue addressed in question (4) in the case of motors and inverter/power controllers. The projections regarding usage of EMAS and the future of the all-electric airplane must be based on the type of vehicle (small subsonic transport, large transport, or military tighter) and the economics involved.     

The Evolving Revolutionary All-Electric Airplane

The "all-electric airplane" is described as it would apply to a military fighter. Emphasis is placed on implementation issues, on the mutual influence between all-electric and airframe design, and on the cost of ownership. It finishes with a projection of what an all-electric airplane might actually be like.     

Today... tomorrow [of multidisciplinary systems of systems]

Some recent or near future examples of multidisciplinary systems of systems are illustrated. They include: upgraded Shuttle avionics; Airbus fly-by-wire; integrated modular electronics; electric automobiles; all-electric aircraft; and JointSTARS system     

民机燃油箱防爆闪电防护新适航要求研究

民用飞机燃油箱系统防爆设计是飞机设计的一个重要方面,其中适航对燃油箱系统闪电防护设计要求作为燃油箱防爆设计及验证的一个重要组成部分,历来受到航空工业界及美国联邦航空局(FAA)的普遍关注。通过研究FAA 关于民用飞机燃油箱系统防爆方面闪电防护的最新适航要求,总结了相关条款的变化内容及相应的符合性验证方法,并预判了未来航空工业界由此产生的影响,对民用飞机适航验证有一定借鉴意义。     

Moving towards a more electric aircraft

The latest advances in electric and electronic aircraft technologies from the point of view of an "all-electric" aircraft are presented herein. Specifically, we describe the concept of a "more electric aircraft" (MEA), which involves removing the need for on-engine hydraulic power generation and bleed air off-takes, and the increasing use of power electronics in the starter/generation system of the main engine. Removal of the engine hydraulic pumps requires fully-operative electrical power actuators and mastery of the flight control architecture. The paper presents a general overview of the electrical power generation system and electric drives for the MEA, with special regard to the flight controls. Some discussion regarding the interconnection of nodes and safety of buses and protocols in distributed systems is also presented     

Advanced Aircraft Electric System

The topics, advanced aircraft electric system and all-electric airplane, inspire a broad range of concepts from the evolutionary to the revolutionary. The revolutionary developments are exciting to the research and development community but find little encouragement or acceptance from airframe developers whose objective is to build an advanced technology airplane using only-off-the-shelf, proven equipment. Their anthem rings "We know how bad the ___________ is, but we have learned to live with it. We have only your vision of how good an advanced system will be and fear to chance it. "However, the cost of living with these known systems combined with the escalating cost of fuel and the military need to address advanced mission capability demands more than a patch called improved reliability and maintainability. The time is at hand to demonstrate an evolutionary approach to achieve a revolutionary improvement. This paper describes an advanced electric system, the life cycle cost improvement anticipated, and the evolutionary means to implementation.     

Design of hybrid-electric aircraft with fault-tolerance considerations

The potential benefits of hybrid-electric or all-electric propulsion have led to a growing interest in this topic over the past decade. Preliminary design of propulsion systems and innovative configurations has been extensively discussed in literature, but steps towards higher levels of technological readiness, optimisation algorithms based on reliable weight estimation and simulation-based mission analysis are required. This paper focuses on the integration of a method for evaluating the lateral-directional controllability of an aircraft within a design chain that integrates aero-propulsive interactions, accurate modelling of the fuel system, and mid-fidelity estimation of the structural weight. Furthermore, the present work proposes a strategy for powerplant management in scenarios with an inoperative chain element. Benefits of hybrid-electric propulsion on the design of the vertical tail plane are evaluated involving the analysis of multiple failure scenarios and certification requirements. The proposed application concerns a commuter aircraft.     

大型民用飞机货舱哈龙替代品抑制及灭火系统研究

基于美国联邦航空局休斯研究中心环保型飞机货舱哈龙替代品抑制及灭火的研究,阐释了飞机货舱哈龙替代品抑制及灭火系统最低性能标准,总结了氮气、气溶胶、细水雾等三种机载灭火系统最新研究成果,剖析了大型民用飞机货舱哈龙替代品抑制及灭火系统的最新发展趋势,分析了三种哈龙替代品抑制及灭火系统用于飞机货舱的可行性,旨在为我国大型民用飞机货舱哈龙替代品抑制及灭火系统研究提供工程技术参考。     

Data-driven reliability analysis of Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, launched in 2011, was presented as a game changer in air travel. With the aim of producing an efficient, mid-size, wide-body plane, Boeing initiated innovations in product and process design, supply chain operation, and risk management. Nevertheless, there were reliability issues from the start, and the plane was grounded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2013, due to safety problems associated with Li-ion battery fires. This paper chronicles events associated with the aircraft’s initial reliability challenges. The manufacturing, supply chain, and organizational factors that contributed to these problems are assessed based on FAA data. Recommendations and lessons learned are provided for the benefit of engineers and managers who will be engaged in future complex systems development.     

A lightning swept stroke model: A valuable tool to investigate the lightning strike to aircraft

In the context of lightning strike on the Dassault Falcon family of aircraft, the standard zoning of Falcon 50, 900 and 2000, inferred from FAA and EUROCAE WG31 documents [US Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Advisory Circular AC 20-53A, 1985; US Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Advisory Circular AC 20-53B, Draft, 1991; EUROCAE WG 31, Aircraft Lightning Zoning Standard, ED-91, 1998], has been presented. Zoning proves to be quite similar between the three types of aircraft. Thanks to the feed-back on lightning strikes to Falcon, lightning traces have been observed on the fuselage for different flight conditions and aircraft. Observations are compared with the zoning performed by Dassault. A physical model, developed by ONERA, was used to simulate the sweeping of lightning on the fuselage of a Falcon 900. The results are in good agreement with the lightning traces observed on the fuselages.     

大型民用飞机燃油箱污染影响与控制要求

基于大型民用飞机燃油箱常见污染物,对其进行分类,研究其来源,分析其对飞机及系统功能、性能、安全、经济性等的影响。针对飞机研制、生产阶段,从材料选用、燃油箱结构、燃油系统及相关系统设计上提出污染防护设计要求,从生产制造各环节与要素上提出污染防护控制要求。针对飞机运营阶段,对其勤务与维护维修提出污染防护监控要求。通过对飞机生命周期内燃油箱污染物的持续监控管理,实现支持飞机高效生产、安全运行的目标。     

基于MATLAB某型飞机航空直流供电保护研究

在机载直流供电系统保护中，广泛使用的保护装置有熔断器（保险丝）和热断路器（双金属自动开关），其原因是它们结构简单，且满足航空输配电保护的要求。但是它们本身具有诸多不可克服的缺点，例如熔断器缺乏较集中的过载保护特性且特性不稳定，影响到过载保护的可靠性、熔断时有因过热而爆炸的可能性、部分熔断器因安装位置导致不能目视检查熔断情况及熔断器熔断后在飞行时更新难于操作等等。鉴于这些问题，在过流大、易短路的供电主干线路中使用高可靠性、高稳定性、操作简便、自动化程度高的保护装置对提高飞机供电系统可靠性具有重要意义。提出了某型飞机供电保护方案，在MATLAB平台上实现了模拟仿真，结果表明能够有效地解决线路的短路、过载等故障。     

民用飞机防火系统适航审定技术分析与研究

火灾是影响运输类飞机安全运行的重要因素。飞机的防火系统为应急系统,通过对飞机的指定防护区进行探测、监控和报警并提供有效灭火,以保证飞机和机上人员的安全。鉴于此,防火系统与民用飞机的安全运行密切相关,也是适航条款要求的内容。旨在为民用飞机研制适航审定人员提供参考,同时也为防火系统适航审定工作提供相应的技术支撑。在分析民机防火系统功能要求和设计架构的基础上,依据中国民用航空规章第25部:运输类飞机适航标准(CCAR-25-R4-2011)的相应条款要求,分析了飞机防火系统可接受的符合性方法及防火系统验证试验中可接受的判据,给出防火系统在适航审查中的技术交联与工作协调。针对防火系统所涉及的各项条款,为局方提供了适航审查工作需要关注的审定要素和评审要求。研究有助于支持民机防火系统的安全设计与适航验证。     

先进舰载战斗机腐蚀防护控制与日历寿命设计

舰载战斗机是航母编队战斗力的重要组成部分,但由于其复杂恶劣的服役环境,舰载机腐蚀防护控制与日历寿命设计问题已经成为限制海军航空兵战斗力保持与提升的关键难题。腐蚀防护与控制应贯穿舰载机全寿命周期,本文以此为总体思路,首先系统梳理了舰载机在综合设计、材料与涂料选择、制造与使用过程中腐蚀防护与控制的诸多要点与细节。然后针对舰载机日历寿命设计问题,在详述环境谱、加速谱编制原则、编制方法及基本构成的基础上,基于案例阐明腐蚀仿真技术是舰载机日历寿命设计的可靠高效手段,可为相关问题的后续研究提供创新思路。最后指出腐蚀监测是舰载机腐蚀防护控制过程中亟待解决的难题。     

某型飞机复合材料后机身闪电防护设计及应用研究

飞机的防雷击设计是现代飞机设计的一个重要组成部分,由于复合材料的抗雷击损伤能力比铝合金差,所以必须有可靠的防雷击系统才能保证飞机的飞行安全。以复合材料后机身作为研究对象,详细探讨了闪电防护的方案设计和应用研究及其适航符合性说明。