Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities
The constant growth of air traffic, the demand for performance optimization and the need for decreasing both operating and maintenance costs have encouraged the aircraft industry to move towards more electric solutions. As a result of this trend, electric power required on board of aircraft has sign...
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| Format: | Article |
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51652/ |
| _version_ | 1848798542463762432 |
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| author | Madonna, Vincenzo Giangrande, Paolo Galea, Michael |
| author_facet | Madonna, Vincenzo Giangrande, Paolo Galea, Michael |
| author_sort | Madonna, Vincenzo |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The constant growth of air traffic, the demand for performance optimization and the need for decreasing both operating and maintenance costs have encouraged the aircraft industry to move towards more electric solutions. As a result of this trend, electric power required on board of aircraft has significantly increased through the years, causing major changes in electric power system architectures. Considering this scenario, the paper gives a review about the evolution of electric power generation systems in aircraft. The major achievements are highlighted and the rationale behind some significant developments discussed. After a brief historical overview of the early DC generators (both wind- and engine-driven), the reasons which brought the definitive passage to the AC generation, for larger aircraft, are presented and explained. Several AC generation systems are investigated with particular attention being focused on the voltage levels and the generator technology. Further, examples of commercial aircraft implementing AC generation systems are provided. Finally, the trends towards modern generation systems are also considered giving prominence to their challenges and feasibility. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:21:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-51652 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:21:26Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-516522020-05-04T19:35:46Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51652/ Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities Madonna, Vincenzo Giangrande, Paolo Galea, Michael The constant growth of air traffic, the demand for performance optimization and the need for decreasing both operating and maintenance costs have encouraged the aircraft industry to move towards more electric solutions. As a result of this trend, electric power required on board of aircraft has significantly increased through the years, causing major changes in electric power system architectures. Considering this scenario, the paper gives a review about the evolution of electric power generation systems in aircraft. The major achievements are highlighted and the rationale behind some significant developments discussed. After a brief historical overview of the early DC generators (both wind- and engine-driven), the reasons which brought the definitive passage to the AC generation, for larger aircraft, are presented and explained. Several AC generation systems are investigated with particular attention being focused on the voltage levels and the generator technology. Further, examples of commercial aircraft implementing AC generation systems are provided. Finally, the trends towards modern generation systems are also considered giving prominence to their challenges and feasibility. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2018-05-07 Article PeerReviewed Madonna, Vincenzo, Giangrande, Paolo and Galea, Michael (2018) Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities. IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification . ISSN 2332-7782 MEA AEA Aircraft Electric Power Generation HEP HVDC https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8355775/ doi:10.1109/TTE.2018.2834142 doi:10.1109/TTE.2018.2834142 |
| spellingShingle | MEA AEA Aircraft Electric Power Generation HEP HVDC Madonna, Vincenzo Giangrande, Paolo Galea, Michael Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| title | Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| title_full | Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| title_fullStr | Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| title_short | Electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| title_sort | electrical power generation in aircraft: review, challenges and opportunities |
| topic | MEA AEA Aircraft Electric Power Generation HEP HVDC |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51652/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51652/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51652/ |