Aircraft Hybrid Power Bus Charging Without a Dedicated Charger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft hybrid electrical systems with high-performance batteries face weight and volume penalties due to large dedicated battery chargers, which increase overall aircraft weight and reduce fuel efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft hybrid electrical system that employs a system controller to selectively operate in current and voltage charge modes, eliminating the need for a dedicated battery charger by using a power bus to manage battery charging directly from an electric power generating system and secondary power system, thereby reducing weight and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a dedicated battery charging system is implemented to provide current and voltage charging profiles for high-performance batteries, then battery charging capability is improved, but system weight and volume increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the battery charging function with the existing secondary power system and electric power generating system. The secondary power system, which was previously dedicated only to power conversion, now also performs battery charging by switching between power conversion mode and battery charging mode. This merging eliminates the need for a separate dedicated battery charger, reducing system weight and volume while maintaining full battery charging capability through the shared power processing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary power system is designed with multi-functionality to perform both power conversion for aircraft loads and battery charging operations. The system can switch between different operational modes (power conversion mode and battery charging mode) based on system needs. This universal design allows the same hardware infrastructure to serve multiple purposes, eliminating redundant components and reducing overall system weight while maintaining dedicated battery charging capabilities when required.
2Reliability
If a dedicated battery charging system is implemented to provide current and voltage charging profiles, then battery charging control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the battery charging control functions with the existing secondary power system control architecture. The secondary power system, which already has control capabilities for power conversion operations, is extended to also manage battery charging by implementing current charge mode and voltage charge mode control. This integration reduces device complexity by eliminating the need for a separate dedicated battery charger control system while maintaining sophisticated battery charging control through the unified power management architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary power system is designed with universal control capabilities that can operate in multiple modes: power conversion mode for supplying aircraft loads and battery charging mode for charging the high-performance battery. The control system switches between these modes based on system requirements, providing dedicated battery charging control when needed while sharing the same control infrastructure with the power conversion system, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
3Reliability
If a high capacity battery is used to provide backup power, then power supply reliability is improved, but weight and volume penalties increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the battery charging function with the secondary power system infrastructure, eliminating the need for a separate dedicated battery charger. This merging reduces the overall system weight by removing redundant charging equipment while maintaining the high-capacity battery for backup power. The shared power processing system provides efficient charging capability without the weight penalty of duplicate hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the dedicated battery charger component from the system architecture and eliminates it entirely. Instead of having a separate battery charging system, the functionality is integrated into the secondary power system. This extraction removes the unnecessary weight of dedicated battery charging equipment while preserving the essential battery backup power capability through the multi-functional secondary power system.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft hybrid electrical system includes an electric power generating system in signal communication with a thermal combustion engine, a secondary power system in signal communication with the electric power generating system, and a battery in signal communication with the electric power generating system and the secondary power system. The aircraft hybrid electrical system further comprises a system controller in signal communication with the electric power generating system, secondary power system, and the battery. The system controller is configured to monitor a charge capacity of the battery and selectively operate in a current charge mode and a voltage charge mode to charge the battery. The system controller invokes the current charge mode in response to detecting the charge capacity falls below a charge capacity threshold, and invokes the voltage charge mode in response to detecting the charge capacity reaches a target value.