Energy management system for hybrid aircraft
The energy management system for hybrid aircraft addresses SPOF by dynamically managing and pooling electrical energy sources, optimizing charging strategies to ensure continuous electrical supply and efficient energy use post-failure.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2024004119
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-19
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-24
AI Technical Summary
Hybrid aircraft systems face challenges in managing electrical energy sources to avoid single points of failure (SPOF) while ensuring continuous electrical supply and preventing voltage differences between stored energy sources, which can render some sources unusable during failures.
An energy management system with a detector, automaton, adapter, power manager, switch, and optional in-flight recharging control device to dynamically manage and pool electrical energy sources, ensuring redundancy and optimizing charging strategies to maximize usable energy post-failure.
The system enables pooling of all stored electrical energy sources after a failure, maximizing usable energy for the rest of the flight by prioritizing and strategically charging sources, thus ensuring reliable operation and efficient energy utilization.
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Energy management system for hybrid aircraft
[0001] The invention relates to the field of aircraft and more particularly to the field of aircraft with hybrid electric engines.
[0002] The electrification of aviation is one of the major challenges of the early 21st century. This electrification is currently based on two types of solutions: fully electric solutions and hybrid solutions.
[0003] In the first type of solutions, the energy source is based exclusively on batteries, which must therefore be recharged between two flights. In the second type of solutions, developed by the Applicant, sources of stored electrical energy (typically batteries) coexist with sources of electrical generation (typically turbines or fuel cells, or other).
[0004] In this second case, it becomes possible to imagine scenarios in which the electrical generation sources are used to recharge one or more sources of stored electrical energy in flight.
[0005] These scenarios nevertheless represent significant challenges. Indeed, in the field of aviation, it is crucial not to create a "Single point of failure" (or SPOF) for obvious safety reasons.
[0006] It is therefore necessary both to have several sources of stored electrical energy to continue to ensure a supply of electrical energy if one of the sources of stored electrical energy fails but also to isolate them from each other to avoid any propagation of failure, and therefore the creation of SPOFs.
[0007] This isolation is not without consequences, and it leads to a risk of creating significant voltage differences between the stored electrical energy sources. Indeed, the electrical characteristics of the circuits of the latter may be slightly different, and therefore generate a different discharge for each stored electrical energy source. This different discharge results in a different state of charge and therefore a different voltage for each stored electrical energy source, since the voltage depends on the state of charge of the stored electrical energy source.
[0008] The occurrence of a breakdown is therefore likely to render unusable sources of stored electrical energy not affected by this breakdown, whereas these could be useful for providing greater autonomy to the aircraft.
[0009] To date, the problem is such that, to the Applicant's knowledge, there is no hybrid solution that makes it possible to manage a failure in flight other than by using power electronics whose weight is too penalizing, or by oversizing all elements to cover cases where stored electrical energy sources become unusable due to a failure on an electrical branch to which they are connected.
[0010] The invention improves the situation. To this end, it proposes an energy management system for an aircraft with a hybrid energy source comprising at least three stored electrical energy sources and an electrical generation source which comprises: - a detector (200) arranged to determine on the one hand state data indicating a state of the elements of the power consumption electrical circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system, and on the other hand energy data relating to the instantaneous electrical power requested by the aircraft and / or the current of the aircraft's stored electrical energy sources, and / or the charging state of the aircraft's stored electrical energy sources, - an automaton (210) arranged to receive the energy data from the detector (200) and to determine a control state of the energy sources, the automaton (210) comprising at least three states in the group comprising: * a buffer state in which the instantaneous electrical power required is less than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s) and is supplied by the latter, * a state of charge in which the instantaneous electrical power required is less than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s) and is supplied entirely by the electrical generation source(s), and in which the electrical generation source(s) produces surplus power used to recharge the stored electrical energy source(s), * a turbo state in which the instantaneous electrical power required is greater than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s), and where the stored electrical energy source(s) provide the necessary supplement to achieve the instantaneous electrical power required, - an adapter (220) arranged to receive the status data and to determine a backup electrical configuration when the status data indicates a failure, - a power manager (230) arranged to receive the status information from the automaton (210) and to determine an electrical command for the stored electrical energy source(s) (50, 60, 80, 90) and the electrical generation source(s) (18, 20), and - a switch (240) arranged to issue commands to the switches of the electrical power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system to implement an electrical configuration nominal, or, in the event of receipt of a backup electrical configuration of the adapter (220), this backup electrical configuration.
[0011] The power manager (230) is further arranged, in the presence of a backup electrical configuration indicating the pooling of two or more sources of stored electrical energy, to determine whether the voltage levels of said two or more sources of stored electrical energy allow this pooling, and the switch (240) being arranged to implement said pooling of two or more sources of stored electrical energy if the determination by the power manager (230) is positive.
[0012] Thanks to this energy management device, it is possible to pool all the sources of stored electrical energy after a failure, which makes it possible to maximize the usable energy for the rest of the flight.
[0013] According to various embodiments, the invention may have one or more of the following characteristics: - when the determination by the power manager (230) is negative, the system is arranged to implement one or more of the following strategies: * when said two or more stored energy sources cannot be pooled, the energy system implements a sequential charge by prioritizing the stored energy sources among said two or more stored electrical energy sources having the lowest voltage levels, * where some of the stored electrical energy sources among said two or more stored electrical energy sources are poolable, but less than indicated by the backup electrical configuration, the energy management system pools poolable stored electrical energy sources having the lowest charge level, * if two sources of stored electrical energy among said two or more sources of stored electrical energy can be pooled but not a third, these two sources of stored electrical energy are pooled, and the energy management system recharges the third in a suitable manner to allow the fastest possible pooling with the other two, * if more than two electrical energy sources among said two or more stored electrical energy sources are to be pooled, the energy management system performs the pooling in several stages, first by pooling two stored electrical energy sources and then adding one stored electrical energy source each time; - the system further comprises an in-flight recharging control device (250) arranged to communicate with the power manager (230) and the switch (240) to control the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft in a grouped manner, and the power manager (230) is further arranged to detect a transition between a vertical flight phase and a horizontal flight phase, and to communicate with the in-flight recharging control device (250) and the switch (240) in order to control the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft in a grouped manner upon detection of a transition from a vertical flight phase to a horizontal flight phase, and to deactivate the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft in a grouped manner upon detection of a transition from a horizontal flight phase to vertical flight: - the at least two sources of stored electrical energy each associated with at least one electrical switch, and in which the in-flight recharging control device comprises * a matcher (500) arranged to receive a status indicator of each electrical generation source as well as a status indicator of each stored electrical energy source, to determine one or more load groups each associating an electrical generation source with two stored electrical energy sources, and to transmit each load group to a respective supervisor (510,51n), * each supervisor (510,51n) being arranged to implement a state machine chosen from the group comprising a stop state, a wait state, a unit precharge state, a unit charge state, a grouped precharge state, a coupling state and a grouped charge state, to retrieve input data comprising a current state machine state, an aircraft grouped charge indicator, a state indicator and a current intensity indicator of the electrical generation source of its load group, a load indicator, a voltage indicator and a maximum available power indicator for each stored electrical energy source of its load group, to determine a new current state machine state from the input data, as well as a direct current setpoint for each stored electrical energy source of its load group,and to transmit the new current state of the state machine and the direct current setpoints to a load parameter calculator, , * the charging parameter calculator (520) being arranged to determine, for each stored electrical energy source, a DC voltage setpoint, a DC to DC voltage transition setpoint, a charging stop indicator and a forced charging indicator from the current state of the state machine and the DC current setpoints of each supervisor as well as an opening or closing setpoint for the electrical switches associated with the stored energy source to allow electrical grouping thereof; - each supervisor (510,51n) is software instantiated on the basis of the transmission by the peer (500); - the supervisors are always available, and in which the call by the pairer (500) creates a link between each supervisor (510,51n) and a load group; - the matcher (500) is arranged to determine one or more load groups comprising more than two sources of stored electrical energy; - the pairer (500) is arranged to access load groups which are defined for an operating time of the device corresponding to a flight; and - the pairer (500) is arranged to determine the load groups dynamically.
[0014] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description, taken from examples given for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, taken from the drawings in which: - [Fig.l] represents a schematic diagram of an aircraft comprising a device according to the invention, - [Fig.2] represents a generic diagram of the energy management system of [Fig.l], - [Fig.3] represents a generic diagram of the in-flight recharging control device of [Fig.2], - [Fig.4] represents an example of configuration in the event of a failure, - [Fig.5] represents a state machine implemented by the device of [Fig.3], - [Fig.6] represents an electrical diagram explaining the pooling of two stored electrical energy sources, and - [Fig.7] an example of the distribution of batteries, turbogenerators and engines on the aircraft.
[0015] The drawings and the description below contain, for the most part, elements of a certain character. They may therefore not only serve to better understand the present invention, but also contribute to its definition, if necessary.
[0016] [Fig.l] represents a schematic diagram of an aircraft 2 comprising a device 4 according to the invention.
[0017] As can be seen in [Fig.l], an aircraft 2 according to the invention comprises an energy management system 4 according to the invention, two horizontal drive groups 6 and 8, four vertical drive groups 10, 12, 14 and 16, and two electrical generation sources 18 and 20.
[0018] This type of aircraft is extremely innovative and is particularly suitable for demonstrating the potential of the energy management system 4. However, the aircraft could have a simpler architecture, for example a single horizontal drive unit, one or two vertical drive units and a single source of electrical generation.
[0019] Still as a variant, the aircraft could not be of the VTOL type, but be of another type, for example a “classic” hybrid aircraft with conventional takeoff (also called CTOL for Conventional Take-Off and Landing in English). In this case, the vertical training groups will generally be called takeoff training groups, while the horizontal training groups will generally be called cruise training groups. Still as a variant, there will no longer be a distinction between two training groups of distinct types.
[0020] In the example described here, the horizontal drive unit 6 (respectively 8) comprises a direct current to alternating current converter 22 (respectively 32), an electric motor 24 (respectively 34) and a propeller 26 (respectively 36), for example a propeller. The propeller 26 (respectively 36) is arranged to allow the aircraft to move forward in a substantially horizontal direction. In the example described here, the propeller 26 (respectively 36) consumes a power of 80kW in flight mode.
[0021] The horizontal drive group 6 (respectively 8) is connected at the input to a switch 28 (respectively 38) which makes it possible to connect this input to the output of the vertical drive group 10 (respectively 14) or 12 (respectively 16), as described below.
[0022] The vertical drive group 10 (respectively 12, 14, 16) comprises a rotor 42 (respectively 46, 72, 76) driven by a motor 52 (respectively 56, 82, 86), a rotor 44 (respectively 48, 74, 78) driven by a motor 54 (respectively 58, 84, 88). The motors 52 and 54 are powered by a respective direct current to alternating current converter 62 and 64 (respectively 66 and 68, 92 and 94, 96 and 98). The direct current to alternating current converters can also be called "inverters" - or "inverters" in English - and are arranged to generate an alternating current from a direct current.
[0023] The direct current to alternating current converters 62 and 64 (respectively 66 and 68, 92 and 94, 96 and 98) are connected to an electrical bus of the vertical drive group 10 (respectively 12, 14, 16), to which a battery 50 (respectively 60, 80, 90) is connected as well as an input connected to an electrical distribution bus 108 of the electrical generation source 18, an input connected to an electrical distribution bus 110 of the electrical generation source 20. The batteries each constitute a source of stored electrical energy, the coupling of which with the electrical generation sources establishes the hybrid nature of the invention.
[0024] Finally, the electrical bus of each of the vertical drive groups 10 and 12 (respectively 14 and 16) is connected to a respective output of the latter, which is connected to the switch 28 (respectively 38). As will be seen below, the 50, 60, 80 and 90 batteries together deliver 600kW when delivering 100% of their capacity.
[0025] In the example described here, each electrical generation source 18 (respectively 20) comprises on the one hand a turbine generator 100 (respectively 102) and an alternating current to direct current converter 104 (respectively 106). In the example described here, each turbine generator can deliver 40 kW at 100% of its capacity. Alternatively, the electrical generation sources could be other electricity production sources, direct current or alternating current followed by an alternating current to direct current converter or a direct current to direct current converter. Thus, these sources could be based on turbine generators powered by conventional fuel, biofuel, or synthetic fuels. Still as a variant, a hydrogen-based energy source, such as a fuel cell, could be used.
[0026] As will be seen with [Fig.2], the energy management system 4 is arranged to control on the one hand the electrical generation sources 18 and 20, on the other hand the switches 28 and 38, but also various protection elements not shown in [Fig.l].
[0027] When analyzing [Fig.l], it appears that all the motor and electrical elements are duplicated. Thus, one-fail-safe can be ensured. Indeed, there are two horizontal drive groups, four vertical drive groups themselves forming two subgroups connected to the same horizontal drive group, and two sources of electrical generation.
[0028] Beyond this fairly conventional duplication, it is the electrical buses specific to each vertical drive group, as well as the electrical distribution bus 108 and 110 specific to each electrical generation source which make it possible to achieve the one-fail-safe objective in operation of “discharging” the stored electrical energy sources, that is to say, when the stored electrical energy sources are stopped or supplying electrical current to the electric motors.
[0029] In the case of recharging these stored electrical energy sources by one or more electrical generation groups, an obvious method of recharging the electrical energy storage sources would be complete paralleling at the level of the electrical buses 108 and 110. This method would then have the disadvantage of creating a SPOF as described previously.
[0030] Indeed, as will be seen below, the particular structure of the aircraft in [Fig.l] allows for a real hybridization of the electrical energy sources, as opposed to existing solutions in which it is a juxtaposition. Thus, depending on the power requirements, both the batteries and the electrical generation sources can operate in concert. But beyond that, this architecture allows batteries to be treated as pure "energy buffers". Batteries are treated in a completely passive manner, without any need for software or hardware intelligence other than the basic intelligence required to operate the battery system (better known by the English acronym BMS for "Battery Management System"). Such a system allows functions such as monitoring parameters - voltage, temperature, state of charge, state of health, etc. -, preventing any risk of leaving the intended operating range - overvoltage, overcurrent, overheating, etc. - or optimizing battery capacity.This goes completely against all existing solutions, in which either an element is specifically designed to optimize the operation of the batteries, and plays a control role, or an element is designed to compensate for any possible weakness of the batteries, but in exclusive alternation, that is to say without the batteries and this element being able to operate simultaneously.
[0031] [Fig. 2] represents a schematic diagram of the energy management system 4 of [Fig. 1]. As can be seen in this figure, the energy management system 4 comprises a detector 200, a controller 210, an adapter 220, a power manager 230, a switch 240 and a charging control device 250.
[0032] The detector 200 is a system arranged to receive various data from the aircraft 2, which it will optionally process and transmit totally or in part on the one hand to the automaton 210, and on the other hand to the adapter 220.
[0033] Thus, the data received by the detector 200 are of two main types: - on the one hand, state data indicating a state (load level, temperature, limit, operating state, fault state, etc.) of the elements of the electrical power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system 4, and - on the other hand, energy data relating to the instantaneous electrical power required by the motors 52, 54, 56, 58, 82, 84, 86, 88 of the rotors 42, 44, 46, 48, 72, 74, 76, 78 and / or the motors 24 and 34 of the thrusters 26 and 36, and / or the current of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft 50, 60, 80 and 90 and / or the charging state of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft 50, 60, 80 and 90.
[0034] Thus, the detector 200 has an overall view of the functional state of the elements linked to the consumption of electrical power, that is to say on the one hand the presence of a breakdown or not as well as the flight phase of the aircraft 2, but also of the energy state of these elements.
[0035] In the following, the expression instantaneous electrical power requested will always designate the electrical power which is called by the motors 52, 54, 56, 58, 82, 84, 86, 88 of rotors 42, 44, 46, 48, 72, 74, 76, 78 and / or motors 24 and 34 of thrusters 26 and 36, unless another definition is explicitly mentioned.
[0036] The automaton 210 is in the example described here a finite automaton, an example of which is shown in [Fig. 3]. As can be seen in this figure, the automaton 210 has four possible states: - a state 300 called “buffer”, in which the instantaneous electrical power requested is less than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s) 18 and 20, and is supplied entirely by the latter, - a state 310 called “charging”, in which the instantaneous electrical power requested is less than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s) and is supplied entirely by the electrical generation source(s), and in which the electrical generation source(s) produces surplus power used to recharge the stored electrical energy source(s), - a state 320 called “turbo” in which the instantaneous electrical power requested is greater than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s), and where the stored electrical energy source(s) provide the necessary supplement to reach the instantaneous electrical power requested, and - an optional state 330 called “silent”, in which the electrical energy sources 18 and 20 are voluntarily stopped in order to reduce noise pollution, which also makes it possible to reduce the emission of pollutants.
[0037] The automaton 210 has transitions which are provided to ensure: - on the one hand a minimal risk in the determination of the state transitions, in order to limit the risks of failure linked to the automaton 210 (and therefore to the energy management system 4), - on the other hand a recharge of the batteries 50, 60, 80, 90 as frequently as possible.
[0038] For this reason, state transitions rely on two variables: - the current produced by the sources of electrical generation or the current of the sources of stored electrical energy, - the battery recharge rate 50, 60, 80, 90.
[0039] As a priority, as soon as the instantaneous electrical power requested exceeds the electrical power capacity of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20, the buffer state or the charging state switches to the turbo state. Indeed, in this case, it is crucial to operate the batteries 50, 60, 80, 90 and the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 simultaneously in order to provide sufficient electrical power to implement the flight controls.
[0040] Secondarily, when the instantaneous electrical power required is less than the electrical power capacity of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20, the priority is to recharge the batteries.
[0041] Thus, the automaton 210 can transition from the buffer state to the charging state or to the turbo state, and from the charging state to the turbo state, and it can transition from the charging state to the buffer state or from the turbo state to the buffer state. On the other hand, it cannot transition from the turbo state to the charging state: it must first transition to the buffer state.
[0042] The reason for this is that, in this way, each state transition is conditioned by a single change of condition relating either to the instantaneous electrical power requested, or to the state of charge of the batteries. Thus, the reliability of the automaton 210 is improved because the risks of several successive transitions or non-transitions are minimal. In other embodiments, the transitions between the states could be carried out differently, for example to avoid power variations linked to the passage through the buffer state.
[0043] The silent state 330 is for its part an option in the sense that it depends on manual activation by the pilot of the aircraft 2. Thus, the latter sends a command to switch off the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 which transitions any state to the silent state. In the same way as for the charge and turbo states, when this command is deactivated, the automaton 210 transitions again to the buffer state.
[0044] The buffer state thus constitutes a starting state and a fundamental state in that it makes it possible to make the operation of the automaton 210 more reliable. It should be noted that the parameters defining the transitions can be varied. Thus, the transition from the buffer state to the charging state can be conditioned by a charging threshold of the batteries 50, 60, 80, 90, and this threshold can itself be modified according to the operational, functional state and / or the flight program of the aircraft 2. Similarly, the electrical power capacity of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 can be modified according to the operational, functional state and / or the flight program of the aircraft 2. For example, in certain failure cases, it may be necessary to operate one or more of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 at a capacity greater than their nominal capacity, for example 120%.It is then appropriate to adapt the transition threshold to the turbo state accordingly. This adaptation is carried out in the example described here by the adapter 220 which adapts the transition threshold, and by the power manager 230 which sends this information to the control card of the electrical generation source (respectively to the control cards of the electrical generation sources).
[0045] Still as a variant, the switch to the silent state could not be purely manual, but take into account the environment of the aircraft 2, for example taking into account one or more parameters among the flight height and a geographical location.
[0046] The adapter 220 is arranged to receive the status data from the detector 200. Based on this, the adapter 220 can determine a fault status and a corresponding emergency electrical configuration. For example, if the status data received from the detector 200 indicates that the motor 52 has failed, then the adapter 220 determines that the vertical drive group 10 must be isolated, and it returns an electrical configuration indicating the need for this isolation and to turn off the elements it comprises.
[0047] The adapter 220 thus contains a table of all possible failure configurations, and the backup electrical configuration corresponding to each. Similarly, if the adapter 220 determines that no failure is occurring, then it can return a nominal electrical configuration which can for example take into account the flight phase of the aircraft 2. The fact that the adapter 220 contains a table with all possible failure configurations is intended to guarantee any error. Alternatively, the adapter 220 could operate from logical operations in order to determine the backup electrical configuration.
[0048] In practice, the electrical configuration, whether nominal or emergency, reflects the fact that isolation switches and / or extinguishing controls must be activated. Indeed, each element of the circuit of [Fig.l] is connected to the rest of the circuit by a switch (not shown), and the consumers and producers of energy are furthermore controlled to switch on or off.
[0049] If we return to the example of the failure of the motor 52, then the adapter 220 determines a backup electrical configuration that isolates the vertical drive group 10 as shown in [Fig. 4]. This results in a backup electrical configuration that indicates that all the switches within the vertical drive group 10, i.e., the switch between the AC to DC converter 104 and the input of the vertical drive group 10 connected to the DC to AC converter 62, the switch between the AC to DC converter 106 and the input of the vertical drive group 10 connected to the DC to AC converter 64, the switch between the battery 50 and the rest of the vertical drive group 10, and a shutdown command for the motors 52 and 54.This emergency electrical configuration also indicates that all switches within vertical drive group 12 must be activated to switch power to that group, as well as switch 28 which must switch to vertical drive group 12.
[0050] The power manager 230 receives on the one hand the state of the automaton 210, and on the other hand the electrical configuration of the adapter 220. On this basis, the power manager 230 can control the sources of stored electrical energy 50, 60, 80 and 90 and / or the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 depending on the energy regime corresponding to the state of the automaton 210 and extinction information indicated by the electrical configuration of the adapter 220.
[0051] For example, in the takeoff phase, with the silent state activated, the power manager 230 sends a command to switch off the electrical generation sources 18 and 20. By switching off, it must be understood that the power manager 230 issues a command to electrically disconnect the elements considered from the electrical system. In practice, this command can result in a so-called “super idle” regime where the energy sources concerned operate at a hyper-idle regime, which avoids switching them off for safety reasons (risk of restart problems).
[0052] Still as a variant, this extinction can be translated by an electrical extinction in the literal sense of the term: - in the take-off phase, with the state of charge, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 to reduce the power emitted by the batteries 50, 60, 80 and 90 to 0, - in the take-off phase, with the turbo state, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 to their maximum capacity, - in the cruising flight phase, with the state of charge, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 until the power emitted by the batteries 50, 60, 80 and 90 is equal to the inverse of the recharging power indicated by the BMS (i.e. in practice the batteries receive this recharging power), - in the cruise flight phase, with the buffer state, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 to reduce the power emitted by the batteries 50, 60, 80 and 90 to 0, - in the descent phase, with the buffer state, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 to lower the power emitted by the batteries 50, 60, 80 and 90 to 0, - in the landing phase, with the buffer state, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 to lower the power emitted by the batteries 50, 60, 80 and 90 to 0, - in the landing phase, with the turbo state, the power manager 230 sends a command to increase the power of the electrical generation sources 18 and 20 to their maximum capacity, etc.
[0053] The switch 240 is arranged to perform a binary AND type operation between, on the one hand, the configuration transmitted by the adapter 220, and on the other hand by the electrical configuration induced by the state of the automaton 210. Thus, if we take the example of the failure of the motor 52, while the state of the automaton 210 is the turbo state, then, for the switches of the vertical drive group 10, this operation will be 0 (from the isolation controlled by the emergency electrical configuration emitted by the adapter 220) x 1 (from the turbo state) which will return 0 for these switches. Once the state of all the switches in the circuit has been determined by the switch 240, the corresponding commands are sent to all the switches in the circuit, and the loop from the detector 200 can resume.
[0054] Thus, it appears that: - all the elements of the circuit consuming or producing power are connected to the detector 200 to indicate their state, - all elements of the circuit which supply power are controlled by the power manager 230, - all on / off switches and controls are controlled by switch 240.
[0055] Thus, the energy management system of the invention completely separates the management of the power production mode (via the automaton 210) and the management of the electrical configuration of the circuit for consuming this power (via the adapter 220). The power manager 230 and the switch 240 are elements of a deliberately simplified nature so as to each receive the outputs of the automaton 210 and the adapter 220 and to be able to take these outputs into account to control the power suppliers and the switches respectively.
[0056] This decorrelation of the control of the electrical circuit is particularly innovative and interesting in that it establishes an architecture which can be deployed quickly and reliably on all types of hybrid aircraft, regardless of the redundancy of their design.
[0057] Finally, the charge control device 250 receives information from the automaton 210 and the adapter 220, and transmits data to the power manager 230 and the switch 240. The role of the charge control device 250 is to interact with the various energy management elements in the aircraft 2 in order to manage the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources, and in particular to allow grouped recharging (or "pooled charging" in English).
[0058] Although the load control device 250 may be advantageous, as will be seen below, it nevertheless remains optional for the implementation of the invention.
[0059] [Fig. 5] represents an example of implementation of the load control device 250. The load control device 250 comprises a matcher 500, one or more supervisors 510 to 5 In and a load parameter calculator 520.
[0060] The respective roles of these elements are as follows: - the function of the pairer 500 is to create tuples associating at least two sources of stored electrical energy with a source of electrical generation, - each tuple is transmitted to a supervisor 510 at 5 In. There are therefore as many supervisors as there are tuples. In practice, there will generally be as many supervisors as there are active electrical generation sources. Each supervisor has the function of determining, from a state machine and the data received from the automaton 210 and the adapter 220, the optimal charging configuration of the electrical energy sources stored by the electrical generation source of its triplet, and - the charging parameter calculator 520 is arranged to receive the charging configurations from each of the supervisors, and to transmit in return the necessary control data to the power manager 230 and the switch 240.
[0061] The charging control device 250 which is the subject of the invention is thus based on the combination of three principles which allow coupled in-flight charging while ensuring redundancy and preventing the creation of a SPOF: 1) the definition of load groups which combine a source of electrical generation and one or more sources of stored electrical energy to be recharged. 2) control of the behavior of a load group based on information on the status of the aircraft and the elements of the load group using a state machine whose control makes it possible to prevent any risk. 3) aggregating information from each load group to return control and status information to the aircraft and control the load.
[0062] In the preferred embodiment, the pairer 500 is executed only once per flight, preferably before takeoff. To operate, the pairer 500 receives as input data a status indicator of each electrical generation source as well as a status indicator of each stored electrical energy source. Thus, the pairer 500 can associate each electrical generation source with two stored electrical energy sources to form a load group each time. In the case where one or more stored electrical energy source status indicators indicate unavailability, the pairer 500 may be caused to associate only one stored electrical energy source with an electrical generation source. Alternatively, more than two stored electrical energy sources may be associated with a load group. Once the load groups have been determined, they are each transmitted to a respective supervisor 510 to 51n.This transmission can be done in the form of a software instantiation of a supervisor for each load group, or by passing the load group as a runtime variable to a supervisor.
[0063] Furthermore, in the example described herein, the matcher 500 is executed only once for each flight, preferably before takeoff. This means that once the load groups are defined, they do not change until the next flight. Alternatively, the matcher 500 could be executed regularly during flights, or when a particular event occurs. It may then be useful for the pairer 500 to receive as additional input data such event data (for example, the recovery or loss of one or more sources of stored electrical energy, charging prohibition information, or the like). In the case of the embodiment described here, the state determined by the automaton 210 could for example be useful.
[0064] In the embodiment described here, each supervisor 510 at 5 In receives as input data: a current state of state machine, an aircraft grouped load indicator, a state indicator and a current intensity indicator of the electrical generation source of its load group, a load indicator, a voltage indicator and a maximum power indicator available for each stored electrical energy source of its load group.
[0065] These various inputs make it possible to determine several transition conditions between the various states of the state machine. The state machine has the following states in the example described here: a stop state, a wait state, a unit precharge state, a unit charge state, a group precharge state, a coupling state and a group charge state.
[0066] In the shutdown state, the supervisor is stopped. This may be the case, for example, because the status indicator of the electrical energy generation source indicates a failure, or because one or more stored electrical energy sources indicate a failure.
[0067] The waiting state is the basic state of the supervisor, and a necessary passage to move from a state associated with a unit load to a state associated with a grouped load.
[0068] The unit precharge state is a state that the supervisor must transition to from the standby state before implementing the unit charge state. This state makes it possible to guarantee a unit charge mode for the load group when the stored electrical energy sources have significantly different charge levels.
[0069] The unit charge state is a state in which one of the stored electrical energy sources is being recharged. This may be necessary when only one of the stored electrical energy sources in a charging group needs to be charged, or when the voltage level of one of the stored electrical energy sources needs to be brought back to a level high enough to allow group charging.
[0070] The group precharge state is a state that the supervisor must transition to from the standby state before implementing the group charge state. This state ensures that the stored electrical energy sources of the load group have charge levels close enough to implement a group charge mode.
[0071] The coupling state is a state that precedes the grouped charge state and is necessarily preceded by the grouped precharge state. This state serves to ensure the electrical paralleling of the sources of electrical energy stored within a given load group.
[0072] Finally, the grouped charging state is a state in which several sources of stored electrical energy are recharged simultaneously by the electrical generation source of the charging group to which they belong.
[0073] The transition from the standby state to the unit precharge state may for example be caused by a grouped charge indicator of the aircraft being set to zero (i.e. prohibiting grouped charge), as well as a status indicator and a current intensity indicator of the electrical generation source indicating that power is available, while the charge indicator of at least one of the stored electrical energy sources indicates that charging is possible (for example in a binary manner or because the charge indicator is below a charge threshold).
[0074] The transition from the unit charge state to the standby state may be caused by the receipt of a group charge indicator from the aircraft which indicates that group charging is possible, or by the fact that the charge indicator of a stored electrical energy source being charged indicates that charging is no longer possible.
[0075] Thus, each supervisor is arranged to determine at regular intervals a new current state of the state machine from the input data, as well as a direct current setpoint for each stored electrical energy source of its load group. The determination of the direct current setpoint makes it possible to process in a completely passive manner, without any need for software or hardware intelligence other than their BMS.
[0076] Preferably, each supervisor is arranged to simulate the operation of the BMS of the stored electrical energy sources of its storage group in order to leave no processing to the latter. This makes it possible in particular to control the charging method, which can be advantageously based on the CC-CV model, i.e. in a first step, the stored electrical energy source is charged at constant current (hence the direct current setpoint), until a chosen voltage level is reached in the stored electrical energy source. In a second step, the charging continues this time at constant voltage, until the current indicates that the charging is finished. This charging paradigm is well known and integrates particularly well into the state machine described for the supervisors.
[0077] Once each supervisor has updated its current state and the direct current setpoint of each stored electrical energy source, these are transmitted to the load parameter calculator 520 which will produce two parameter structures, one of which is intended for the aircraft management system and the other for the BMS of the stored electrical energy sources. In the embodiment described above, the first structure is sent to the switch 240, while the second structure is sent to the power manager 230.
[0078] In the example described here, the first structure thus comprises a matrix of load groups, which makes it possible both to organize the electrical switching to direct the electrical current coming from the electrical generation sources to the stored electrical energy sources paired by the pairer 500 and on the other hand a load mode vector which indicates for each load group whether it is in unit load (and in this case on which stored electrical energy source), in grouped load, or on standby.
[0079] In the example described here, the second structure comprises the concatenation of five BMS control values of each stored electrical energy source: - the constant current setpoint (used for the CC charging mode), - the constant voltage setpoint (used by the CV charging mode), - a charging stop indicator, - a charging trigger indicator, and - the end-of-charging current threshold.
[0080] Conventionally, the charge stop indicator takes precedence over all other data. Thus, if the current state of the state machine is a unit or coupled charge and the charge stop indicator is activated by the BMS of the stored electrical energy source concerned, whether for a fault reason or otherwise, the state machine will automatically go into a waiting state. The charge trigger indicator is for its part activated in a conventional manner when the charge stop indicator is deactivated and the unit precharge state or the coupling state is activated and the state machine determines that unit charge or grouped charge is now possible.
[0081] It is clear from the above that the different states of the state machine make it possible to very finely divide each step of the charging, in a grouped or non-grouped manner, of a stored electrical energy source. This results in securing the charging control device 250 which can at any time control the charging state and guarantee charging in flight, optimized for each stored, or even grouped, electrical energy source, and without the risk of SPOF.
[0082] The paradigm described above is particularly advantageous because it allows, from a highly generalist architecture, to adapt the load control device to a very large number of implementations, without having to recreate the architecture.
[0083] Indeed, in the embodiment described above, the aircraft is a VTOL whose EMS itself implements a state machine. Also, the load control device 250 is naturally integrated into the energy management system 4. Nevertheless, it appears that the charge control device 250 could be integrated as a separate module in any hybrid aircraft, since it receives the global information from the aircraft (such as faults, flight phases prohibiting recharging, instantaneous states of the elements, etc.) and the latter can receive its information to implement the recharging command.
[0084] In addition, its architecture offers great flexibility: if the electrical generation sources are connected to only some of the stored electrical energy sources, then the matcher will perform an association constrained by this physical reality, but if this is not the case, it may for example be envisaged to regularly execute the matcher in order to modify the load groups to associate the stored electrical energy sources whose voltage levels are closest. Still alternatively, although the load groups described here each contain a maximum of two stored electrical energy sources, this number may be increased.
[0085] The definition of load groups makes it possible to instantiate the supervisors according to the needs identified by the matcher. This means that the consumption of computing resources can be optimized by activating only the supervisors that are necessary. In the same way, the separation between supervisors and load parameter calculator makes it possible to separate the processing and therefore prevent the risks of SPOF. For example, if a supervisor does not respond, the load parameter calculator can continue to operate with the other load groups and signal to the aircraft management system that there is a potential problem for the load group associated with this supervisor.
[0086] The charge control device according to the invention therefore offers an algorithm using a state machine making it possible to carry out a sequencing of the charging of the batteries associated in a charging group until they are brought back to a voltage level difference deemed acceptable, then a paralleling of these to carry out a grouped charge (or "pooled charging") of these batteries.
[0087] Beyond the possibility of grouped charging, the invention not only makes it possible to offer the most flexible in-flight battery recharging strategy possible, but also to guarantee the possibility of in-flight recharging at all, which is not known to date when the absence of SPOF must be guaranteed.
[0088] The implementation of the in-flight recharge control device is also advantageous because it allows better preparation for the risks associated with breakdowns during descent. Indeed, in normal times, stored electrical energy sources tend to discharge asymmetrically.
[0089] Indeed, as seen above, the electrical architecture is divided into four (or more) groups which are separated in normal operation to ensure safety during flight. Each group has a dedicated battery which constitutes the main source power supply. This separation allows a single failure to be tolerated during vertical operation.
[0090] Furthermore, the operation of the aircraft gives rise to heterogeneous flight phases. Takeoff and landing are carried out in vertical mode with 8 motors of the vertical drive unit. During conventional flight operations, other electric motors are used. This heterogeneous distribution of electrical consumption over the entire flight leads to imbalances in the battery charge state.
[0091] In the event of a single failure, it is desirable to balance and use all the remaining energy by connecting the remaining battery blocks in parallel. However, as seen above, the consumptions by these battery blocks may not have been balanced between the groups. However, parallel connection is only possible if the voltage differences between the battery blocks are below a certain threshold. If the voltage differences are too large, the charging current entering the least charged batteries will be higher than the operational limits of the batteries.
[0092] In order to better understand this phenomenon, [Fig.6] represents an electrical diagram explaining the pooling of two sources of stored electrical energy.
[0093] In the example shown in [Fig. 6], the two sources of stored electrical energy are source 50 and source 60 of the embodiment of [Fig. 1]. From an electrical point of view, the stored electrical energy source 50 (respectively 60) can be seen as the combination of a voltage source 550 (respectively 650) and a resistor 560 (respectively 660) which supply an electrical load represented by a current source 570 (respectively 670). The stored electrical energy source 50 and the stored electrical energy source 60 are electrically connected by a pooling switch 600 which, if closed, connects the circuit formed by the voltage source 550, the resistor 560 and the current source 570, and, if open, opens it.
[0094] Thus, if the pooling switch 600 is closed, the stored electrical energy sources 50 and 60 are pooled, whereas if it is open, they are electrically independent.
[0095] As explained above, in normal operation of the aircraft, pooling is normally not desired, in order to avoid the risks of SPOF. Also, the question of pooling particularly concerns the transition from "no pooling" to "pooling". In what follows, each physical quantity (V for voltage, I for intensity, R for resistance and IL for the intensity of the current source) receives an index ("50" or "60") corresponding to the electrical energy source to which it corresponds.
[0096] When closing the pooling switch 600, if the voltage V50 of the voltage source 550 is different from the voltage V6o of the voltage source 650, this will induce a change in the intensity circulating in the stored energy source whose voltage is the lowest.
[0097] Indeed, when the pooling switch 600 is closed, we have: j _ and _ V6CrV50+ / ?50( / L50+ZL60) ' 50 R^+Rfy-, 60 R^+R^
[0098] It appears that, if the difference between the voltage V50 and the voltage V6o is too large, one of the two sources of stored electrical energy will receive a current likely to damage it. The value of the maximum tolerable current is here called Imax (presumed positive by convention).
[0099] According to the sign of V50 - V60, we therefore have J _ ^50^60+ / ^0(7 / ,50+ / ^0) OR _ V 6o-V5o+ / ?5o( / L5o+ / £60) ~ *max50~ R^+Rf^ ~*max60~ R^+R^
[0100] Therefore, still according to the sign of V50 - V6o, it is only possible to close the pooling switch 600 without risk if ^60 ' ^50 < ^max5Q ( ^50 + ^60 ) + ^6o(^5O + ^6') °U ^50 " ^60 < ImaxbQ ( ^50 ^60 ) ^50^^50 ^-^6o)
[0101] Of course, the example of [Fig.6] can be generalized for other sources of stored electrical energy, as well as for the pooling of more than two sources of stored electrical energy.
[0102] Consequently, in the event of a failure, before the switch 240 commands the closing of the pooling switch 600, the power manager 230 must ensure that the voltage difference between the stored electrical energy sources is lower than the limit values expressed above.
[0103] Thus, in the event of a breakdown and determination by the adapter 220 of a backup electrical configuration involving pooling of several sources of stored electrical energy, the power manager 230 begins by checking whether the voltage levels of the sources of stored electrical energy are compatible with pooling.
[0104] If this is the case, then the affected pooling switch(es) are closed by switch 240. If this is not the case, then the energy management system may implement one or more of the following strategies: - if the stored energy sources cannot be pooled, including two by two, a sequential charge is implemented by prioritizing the available stored energy sources with the lowest voltage levels. The goal is to increase the voltages of these stored energy sources until each can be paired with another stored electrical energy source. - if several sources of stored electrical energy can be paired two by two, but not three by three, pooling the sources of electrical energy with the lowest charge level is preferred. - if two sources of stored electrical energy can be pooled, but not the third, these two sources are pooled, and the recharging of the third is adapted to allow the fastest possible pooling with the other two. - if more than two sources of electrical energy must be pooled, this pooling is nevertheless carried out in several stages, each time closing a single pooling switch.
[0105] In the context of implementing the invention, the Applicant has discovered that it is advantageous to use the in-flight recharging device 250 in order to pool the batteries two by two as soon as the aircraft is in conventional flight mode. In this configuration, the aircraft remains tolerant to a single failure because a single engine is sufficient. On the other hand, as soon as the aircraft switches from conventional flight mode to a vertical flight mode, the pooled recharging of the batteries must be deactivated in order to preserve the tolerance to a single failure.
[0106] Thus, the power manager 230 can be arranged to detect a transition from a vertical flight phase to a horizontal flight phase, and to activate in this case the grouped recharging of batteries in groups of two. Thus, the batteries will have similar voltage levels, which will allow them to be grouped in the event of loss of a battery during a vertical flight phase. In addition, the power manager 230 can be arranged to detect a transition from a horizontal flight phase to a vertical flight phase and to cut off the grouped recharging in order to guarantee flight safety.
[0107] It should be noted that, during the transition between vertical and horizontal flight, all the motors are activated. This has the consequence that the states of charge between the different battery packs can be quite different after this transition phase. Nevertheless, paralleling the packs in this situation is favorable, because the current that will naturally flow from one battery to the other will tend to recharge the most discharged battery, and therefore bring the batteries back to similar states of charge more quickly, until the group charge can be fully achieved.
[0108] The ability to harmonize battery voltage levels is particularly interesting because it allows for many types of reconfiguration to be considered during a flight in the event of a failure. Indeed, the architecture of [Fig.4] can be extended to create electrical groups each associating a source of stored electrical energy, one electrical generation source, two rotor motors (for vertical drive) and one thruster motor (for horizontal drive).
[0109] The pooling of the stored electrical energy sources can be achieved by allowing each vertical drive group 6 and 8 to be simultaneously connected to two batteries. For example, a matrix of these electrical groups can be as follows (using the references of [Fig.4]): Thruster Motor Battery Rotor Motor #1 Rotor Motor #2 Turbogenerator Group A 24 50 54 100 Group B 24 60 56 GO in 100 Group C 34 80 82 84 102 Group D 34 90 92 94 102
[0110] According to this distribution: - the thruster engine 24 is powered 50% by group A and 50% by group B, - the 34 propellant engine is powered 50% by group C and 50% by group D, - rotor motors 52 and 54 are powered by group A, - rotor motors 56 and 58 are powered by group B, - rotor motors 82 and 84 are powered by group C, and - rotor motors 86 and 88 are powered by group D.
[0111] This configuration can be particularly interesting with a distribution of batteries, turbogenerators and motors as illustrated in [Fig.7].
[0112] It is recalled that the architecture is optimized to withstand the failure of a single electrical energy storage or generation element and allow a normal end of flight, i.e. without an emergency landing procedure. In the event of failure of an element, it is therefore useful to be able to group the remaining elements together to form a single electrical group. This is all the faster and easier since the batteries have similar voltage levels.
[0113] For example, in the event that battery 50 experiences a failure, for example a short circuit, this means that there are three batteries and two turbogenerators remaining to provide electrical energy until the end of the flight. The thruster motor 24 can still be powered by group B, but the rotor motors 52 and 54 are, on the other hand, lost because they can no longer be powered because group A will be isolated from the rest of the aircraft.
[0114] By implementing the invention using the in-flight recharge control device 250, there is a significant chance that the three remaining batteries will have voltage levels close enough that a so-called "pooled 3-2" backup configuration can be implemented immediately. In this configuration, the batteries 60, 80 and 90 as well as the turbogenerators 100 and 102 are pooled in order to be able to supply electrical energy to the thruster motors 24 and 34, as well as to the rotor motors 56, 58, 82, 84, 86 and 88.
[0115] If for any reason one of the batteries has a voltage level too far from the other two (since the batteries were recharged in pairs before the failure, at least two batteries have a similar voltage level, but it remains possible that the third is far away), the third battery is recharged alone until the "pooled 3-2" configuration can be implemented, or conversely it is expected that it has a charge similar to that of the other two batteries to be associated with them.
[0116] Still in this same configuration, if the short circuit generates a protection of the turbogenerator 100. However, in this case, the battery 60 of group B has already been grouped with the batteries 80 and 90 and the turbogenerator 102. Also, it is sufficient to launch a reset procedure of the turbogenerator 100, which takes a few seconds, and the "pooled 3-2" configuration becomes operational again. In this case, the implementation of the invention is even more advantageous, because it makes it possible to group the battery 60 with the batteries 80 and 90, which secures the restart procedure of the turbogenerator 100.
[0117] If it is battery 60, 80 or 90 that fails, the "pooled 3-2" configuration applies in a similar manner, but obviously by changing the elements concerned.
[0118] Another failure case concerns the case where one of the two turbogenerators experiences a failure, for example the turbogenerator 100. In this case, all the rotor motors and all the thruster motors can still be powered, because the isolation of the turbogenerator 100 will not prevent the latter from being powered (unlike the rotor motors during the previous failure case). Thanks to the invention, it is then possible to implement a so-called "pooled 4-1" backup configuration in which the four batteries 50, 60, 80 and 90 are grouped together and with the remaining turbogenerator 102. Here again, the grouped charging of the batteries allows a faster transition to the backup configuration.
[0119] Generally speaking, there therefore appears to be an interest in the presence of pooling switches making it possible to connect the stored electrical energy sources and the electrical generation sources together, in order to offer optimal energy capacity in the event of an in-flight failure.
Claims
1. Claims Energy management system for aircraft with hybrid energy source comprising at least three stored electrical energy sources and an electrical generation source, characterized in that it comprises: - a detector (200) arranged to determine on the one hand state data indicating a state of the elements of the electrical power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system, and on the other hand energy data relating to the instantaneous electrical power requested by the aircraft and / or the current of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft, and / or the charging state of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft, - an automaton (210) arranged to receive the energy data from the detector (200) and to determine a control state of the energy sources, the automaton (210) comprising at least three states in the group comprising: * a buffer state in which the instantaneous electrical power required is less than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s) and is supplied by the latter, * a state of charge in which the instantaneous electrical power required is less than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s) and is supplied entirely by the electrical generation source(s), and in which the electrical generation source(s) produces surplus power used to recharge the stored electrical energy source(s), * a turbo state in which the instantaneous electrical power required is greater than the capacity of the electrical generation source(s), and where the stored electrical energy source(s) provide the necessary supplement to achieve the instantaneous electrical power required, - an adapter (220) arranged to receive the status data and to determine a backup electrical configuration when the status data indicates a failure, - a power manager (230) arranged to receive the state information from the automaton (210) and to determine an electrical command for the electrical energy source(s) stored (50, 60, 80, 90) and the electrical generation source(s) (18, 20), and - a switch (240) arranged to issue commands to the switches of the aircraft power consumption electrical circuit controlled by the energy management system to implement a nominal electrical configuration, or, in the event of receiving a backup electrical configuration from the adapter (220), this backup electrical configuration, the power manager (230) being further arranged, in the presence of a backup electrical configuration indicating the pooling of two or more stored electrical energy sources, to determine whether the voltage levels of said two or more stored electrical energy sources allow this pooling,and the switch (240) being arranged to implement said pooling of two or more sources of stored electrical energy if the determination by the power manager (230) is positive.,
2. The system of claim 1, wherein, when the determination by the power manager (230) is negative, the system is arranged to implement one or more of the following strategies: - when said two or more stored energy sources cannot be pooled, the energy system implements sequential charging by prioritizing the stored energy sources among said two or more stored electrical energy sources having the lowest voltage levels, - when some of the stored electrical energy sources among said two or more stored electrical energy sources can be pooled, but less than indicated by the backup electrical configuration, the energy management system pools poolable stored electrical energy sources having the lowest charge level,- if two sources of stored electrical energy among said two or more sources of stored electrical energy can be pooled but not a third, these two sources of stored electrical energy are pooled, and the energy management system recharges the third in a suitable manner to allow the fastest possible pooling with the other two,
3.
4. - if more than two of said two or more stored electrical energy sources are to be pooled, the energy management system performs the pooling in several stages, first by pooling two stored electrical energy sources and then adding one stored electrical energy source each time. An energy management system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an in-flight recharging control device (250) arranged to communicate with the power manager (230) and the switch (240) to control the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft in a grouped manner, wherein the power manager (230) is further arranged to detect a transition between a vertical flight phase and a horizontal flight phase, and to communicate with the in-flight recharging control device (250) and the switch (240) in order to control the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft in a grouped manner upon detection of a transition from a vertical flight phase to a horizontal flight phase, and to deactivate the recharging of the stored electrical energy sources of the aircraft in a grouped manner upon detection of a transition from a horizontal flight phase to vertical flight. System according to claim 3 wherein the at least two sources of stored electrical energy each associated with at least one electrical switch, and wherein the in-flight charging control device comprises - a pairer (500) arranged to receive a state indicator of each source of electrical generation as well as a state indicator of each source of stored electrical energy, to determine one or more load groups each associating a source of electrical generation with two sources of stored electrical energy, and to transmit each load group to a respective supervisor (510,51n), - each supervisor (510,51n) being arranged to implement a state machine chosen from the group comprising a stop state, a wait state, a unit precharge state, a unit charge state, a grouped precharge state, a coupling state and a grouped charge state,to retrieve input data including a current state machine state, an indicator of, aircraft group load, a state indicator and a current intensity indicator of the electrical generation source of its load group, a load indicator, a voltage indicator and a maximum available power indicator for each stored electrical energy source of its load group, to determine a new current state of the state machine from the input data, as well as a direct current setpoint for each stored electrical energy source of its load group, and to transmit the new current state of the state machine and the direct current setpoints to a load parameter calculator, - the load parameter calculator (520) being arranged to determine, for each stored electrical energy source, a direct voltage setpoint, a direct current to direct voltage transition setpoint,a charging stop indicator and a forced charging indicator based on the current state of the state machine and the direct current setpoints of each supervisor as well as an opening or closing setpoint for the electrical switches associated with the stored energy sources to allow electrical grouping of these.,
5. The system of claim 4, wherein each supervisor (510,51n) is software instantiated based on the transmission by the peer (500).
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the supervisors are always available, and wherein the call by the peer (500) creates a link between each supervisor (510,51n) and a load group.
7. System according to one of claims 4 to 6, in which the matcher (500) is arranged to determine one or more load groups comprising more than two sources of stored electrical energy.
8. System according to one of claims 4 to 7, in which the pairer (500) is arranged to access charge groups which are defined for an operating duration of the device corresponding to a flight.
9. System according to one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the matcher (500) is arranged to determine the load groups dynamically.
Citation Information
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Method for determining battery pack connection in power supply system
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System for managing power for an aircraft with a hybrid power source comprising at least one rechargeable electricity source and one electricity generating source
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