Wireless Power Transfer in Aircraft Systems

The aerospace industry is noticing significant shift towards More Electric Aircraft (MEA). The advancement of electrical technology the systems are being transformed towards electric compared to the conventional pneumatic or hydraulic systems. This has led to an increased demand in electrical power from 150 Kilo Watts in the conventional airplane to 1 Mega Watts in More Electric Aircraft. More electric systems, call for increased electrical wiring harness to connect various systems in the aircraft. These harnesses consist of power and data cables. Wireless communication technology is being matured for data communication, leading to reduction of wire harness for data. As of now, the length of wires in large commercial aircraft is over 100miles and it may not be surprising if the electrification of aircraft drive this too much longer. In this paper, a comparative study of various wireless power transfer techniques for DC voltage configuration and the corresponding challenges in an aircraft environment are presented. Challenges in meeting the certification standards as per the RTCA DO-160 for EMI/EMC and power quality are discussed. From various Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) techniques, the technology, architecture suitable for aerospace application is discussed. The models and simulation results are presented. Possibility of deploying WPT alongside WAIC strategy is proposed. The performance of the proposed current control methodology is presented. Potential for future research is laid out based on the study of various technologies.