eVTOL Charging Bus Architecture for Redundant Battery Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric aircraft power systems lack redundancy, leading to a single point of failure, and require efficient charging methods to ensure flight duration, while also needing safe and rapid shutdown mechanisms for emergency responders.
Innovation Solution
A high voltage power system for eVTOL aircraft is designed with paired battery pack units, where each battery acts as a backup for others, and a centralized charging system that adjusts charge levels based on flight information and monitored battery states. Additionally, low voltage cut loops are implemented for safe shutdown.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If battery packs are connected in a paired unit with electrical separation between units, then redundancy and fault isolation are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack system is divided into multiple paired battery pack units, with each unit containing two battery packs. The units are electrically separated from each other, creating distinct isolation zones. This segmentation allows fault containment within individual units while maintaining overall system redundancy, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity by organizing the system into manageable, isolated modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The paired battery pack configuration provides built-in redundancy where each battery pack serves as a backup for its partner. This beforehand cushioning ensures that if one battery pack fails, the other can immediately take over, preventing single-point failures without requiring complex external backup systems.
2Productivity
If a single point of charging is provided for multiple battery packs, then charging efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple battery packs within a paired unit are electrically connected through a common charging bus, allowing a single charging port to distribute power to both battery packs simultaneously. This merging of charging paths enables efficient parallel charging without requiring separate charging infrastructure for each battery pack, resolving the contradiction between charging productivity and device complexity.
3Speed
If low voltage cut loops are implemented for rapid shutdown, then safety response time is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The critical shutdown function is extracted into a separate, dedicated low voltage cut loop system that is electrically independent from the main high voltage power distribution. This extracted safety mechanism can be rapidly activated by first responders through simple loop cutting, providing fast shutdown capability without requiring complex control systems or integration with the main power management architecture.
4Duration of action of moving object
If battery packs are sufficiently charged prior to take-off, then flight duration is improved, but charging time and energy loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The battery packs can be charged in parallel through the common charging bus, significantly reducing total charging time compared to sequential charging. This continuous parallel charging capability allows the system to maintain high state of charge levels for extended flight duration without proportionally increasing total charging time, resolving the contradiction between flight duration and charging time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are provided for charging system for an aircraft. The charging system may comprise a plurality of electric propeller units (EPUs), a plurality of battery packs configured to power the plurality of EPUs, a charge port configured to accept high voltage power to charge the plurality of battery packs, a common high voltage charging bus connected to the charge port, and a charge control unit configured to determine battery pack charge contactor commands based on flight information for an aircraft and a current state of each battery pack of the plurality of battery packs. The plurality of battery packs may be chargeable through the common high voltage charging bus and each of the plurality of battery packs may include a disconnection device configured to disconnect the battery pack from charging.