Managing Loads on Aircraft Generators to Prevent Overheat In-Flight

On future UAVs it is envisaged that the power requirements of all on-board electrical systems will increase. In most flight (mission) situations the installed power generation will have adequate capacity to operate the aircraft. It is possible that during abnormal situations such as coolant blockage the generators on-board may be forced to operate under very high load conditions. The main failure mechanism for a generator is overheating and subsequent disintegration of windings, hence the research problem being addressed here is to manage the loads upon the generator to prevent overheats.

The research presented here summarizes the modeling of the generator and formation of the load management system. Results are presented showing the system reallocating loads after a fault during flight, preventing overheat of the generators and successfully completing the mission.