The project „Meshed Grids in Cabin and Cargo“ is a sub-project of SESAM (SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS AND MANAGEMENT) that examines the potential usage of meshed electrical grids in aircrafts for cabin and cargo loads. The objective is to reduce the weight of the wiring and to increase the system reliability.
Current cabin power system networks are arranged in a tree or star topology. All electrical generators are connected to a PEPDC (Primary Electric Power Distribution Center) in the front area. Such networks require much longitudinal wiring from electrical generators to Secondary Power Distribution Boxes (SPDB) or to other consumers. All the rays of the network, so-called feeders, are designed for the maximum appearing current. However, some sections of the network are active only in certain phases of flight.
The new developed cabin power network shall be capable to connect multiple power sources like generators, APU, fuel cells and batteries into one network architecture. The objective is also to reduce cable cross-sections by the meshing of feeders, which can save wiring weight. Another important goal is the unification of the network structure, so that it is possible to use standardized wiring and to develop standard electronic components for every aircraft.
Contact partner:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Detlef Schulz (project manager)
Department of Electrical Engineering
Electrical Power Systems
Letzte Änderung: 28. May 2021