Aircraft DC Power Distribution Redundancy via Converter Interconnection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power distribution systems in aircraft, particularly for radar antennas, face challenges in efficiently supplying power during failures, as conventional solutions require oversized AC/DC converters and additional AC power sources, leading to increased weight, volume, and fuel consumption, as well as complex and risky power redistribution.
Innovation Solution
A power distribution system with multiple AC/DC converters, each with multiple outputs, allows for power redistribution among electrical loads by connecting secondary inputs to additional outputs of other converters, ensuring continuous power supply without paralleling converters, thus reducing the load on each converter and avoiding oversizing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional AC power sources or oversized AC/DC converters are provided to supply power during degraded mode, then power supply reliability is improved, but weight and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each AC/DC converter is designed with dual functionality: it can supply power to its own dedicated electrical loads through first outputs, and simultaneously serve as a backup power source for other converters' loads through additional outputs. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated backup power sources, reducing overall system weight while maintaining reliability during degraded mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own existing AC/DC converters to provide backup power support during failures, rather than relying on external additional power sources. The converters serve themselves and each other through the interconnection of additional outputs with secondary inputs, creating a self-sufficient power distribution network that reduces total system weight.
2Reliability
If additional AC power sources or oversized AC/DC converters are provided to supply power during degraded mode, then power supply reliability is improved, but volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each AC/DC converter unit is designed to perform multiple functions: primary power conversion for its own loads and secondary backup power provision for other converters' loads. This eliminates the need for additional dedicated backup converters, reducing the total volume of power conversion equipment in the system while ensuring continuous power supply during failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the backup power function into the existing AC/DC converters by adding additional outputs that can be interconnected. Instead of having separate primary and backup converter systems, the functionality is combined into unified converter units, reducing overall system volume while maintaining reliability.
3Reliability
If AC power sources are oversized to provide backup power, then power supply reliability is improved, but fuel consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The AC/DC converters are designed with additional outputs that provide backup power capability, but these outputs remain dormant during normal operation. Only when needed during degraded mode do they activate to provide partial power support, avoiding the continuous energy waste associated with running oversized power sources at full capacity during normal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The converters serve dual purposes: primary power conversion during normal operation and backup power provision during failures. This eliminates the need for continuously running oversized power sources, reducing fuel consumption while maintaining the ability to provide backup power when needed.
4Reliability
If AC/DC converters are paralleled to redistribute power during failures, then power supply reliability is improved, but device complexity and risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the power distribution into dedicated first outputs for primary loads and additional outputs for backup support. This segmentation allows for simple, discrete connections rather than complex paralleling arrangements, reducing system complexity while enabling power redistribution during failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The additional outputs of AC/DC converters serve as intermediaries that facilitate power redistribution without requiring direct paralleling of converter outputs. This intermediary approach simplifies the power redistribution mechanism, reducing complexity and risk associated with direct paralleling of high-power converters.
Data Source
AI summary
A power distribution system for a DC network, the DC network comprising electrical loads, the power distribution system being boarded on an aircraft and comprising: a plurality of AC/DC converters, and at least one AC power source. The power distribution system comprises: an “n” number of AC/DC converters, each one comprising an “(n−1)” number of first outputs and at least an additional output, and an “(n−1)·n” number of electrical loads. Each electrical load comprises two inputs: a first input for being connected with a corresponding first output, and a second input for being connected with any of the additional outputs. The power distribution system is configured to continue supplying electrical power to the DC network in case an AC/DC converter is not energized, such that the second input of such electrical load is connected to any additional output of another AC/DC converter, being the first input disconnected.