Electric Drivetrain for Gas Turbines in Aviation Applications
(2025) In CODEN:LUTEDX/TEIE EIEM01 20251Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation
- Abstract
- Due to higher demands on the electrical systems in the aviation industry, the generation and distribution of electrical power, in aircrafts, needs to be researched and developed further. Key requirements include increased power capacity to meet future demands, a transition from AC to DC supply and an increased voltage level.
For power generation, a generator is coupled to the jet turbine which must endure a demanding environment with high temperatures and limited cooling capability due to the available coolants. By developing a simulation model of a PMSM operating as a generator, various machine designs, cooling strategies, and materials can be evaluated to identify configurations that meet the system requirements.
The transition to a DC... (More) - Due to higher demands on the electrical systems in the aviation industry, the generation and distribution of electrical power, in aircrafts, needs to be researched and developed further. Key requirements include increased power capacity to meet future demands, a transition from AC to DC supply and an increased voltage level.
For power generation, a generator is coupled to the jet turbine which must endure a demanding environment with high temperatures and limited cooling capability due to the available coolants. By developing a simulation model of a PMSM operating as a generator, various machine designs, cooling strategies, and materials can be evaluated to identify configurations that meet the system requirements.
The transition to a DC supply, when AC has historically been used, and an increased voltage level, is an effect of the increasing power demand. But with the switch to DC supply, new onboard electronics is needed in order to convert it to AC and back. In order to maximize the on-board power generation, a over-modulation strategy is implemented. Electrical and thermal simulations are made in Simulink to evaluate possible solutions, including the over-modulation technique and the use of different types of transistors for the converter.
The PMSM model is developed in both Simulink, to ensure integration with the power electronics model, and in Motor-CAD, to enable more accurate loss estimation and thermal analysis. Simulation results indicate that, under the demanding environmental conditions and with the available cooling fluids of Jet fuel and a water-glycol mixture, slot cooling with direct contact to the windings is essential, without it, conventional materials are not suitable for the application. However, with materials such as samarium cobalt magnets and winding insulation materials with higher thermal capabilities, the machine achieves a significant thermal margin.
The over-modulation strategy developed is able to control the currents and voltages going from linear modulation to six-step modulation. The transition from linear to six-step is controlled with an algorithm in order to make it a smooth as possible. The over-modulation strategy works but the transition from linear modulation to six-step is not as smooth as desired. The thermal simulation showed that SiC transistors significantly reduces the cooling requirements compared to IGBTs. Partly due to its lower losses, but also because SiC transistors can operate under higher temperatures than IGBTs can. Although the performance differed a lot even between the two different SiC transistors used. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9204407
- author
- Nilsson, Truls LU and Frennfelt, Niklas LU
- supervisor
-
- Mats Alaküla LU
- organization
- course
- EIEM01 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- publication/series
- CODEN:LUTEDX/TEIE
- report number
- 5538
- language
- English
- id
- 9204407
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-26 09:32:51
- date last changed
- 2025-06-26 09:32:51
@misc{9204407,
abstract = {{Due to higher demands on the electrical systems in the aviation industry, the generation and distribution of electrical power, in aircrafts, needs to be researched and developed further. Key requirements include increased power capacity to meet future demands, a transition from AC to DC supply and an increased voltage level.
For power generation, a generator is coupled to the jet turbine which must endure a demanding environment with high temperatures and limited cooling capability due to the available coolants. By developing a simulation model of a PMSM operating as a generator, various machine designs, cooling strategies, and materials can be evaluated to identify configurations that meet the system requirements.
The transition to a DC supply, when AC has historically been used, and an increased voltage level, is an effect of the increasing power demand. But with the switch to DC supply, new onboard electronics is needed in order to convert it to AC and back. In order to maximize the on-board power generation, a over-modulation strategy is implemented. Electrical and thermal simulations are made in Simulink to evaluate possible solutions, including the over-modulation technique and the use of different types of transistors for the converter.
The PMSM model is developed in both Simulink, to ensure integration with the power electronics model, and in Motor-CAD, to enable more accurate loss estimation and thermal analysis. Simulation results indicate that, under the demanding environmental conditions and with the available cooling fluids of Jet fuel and a water-glycol mixture, slot cooling with direct contact to the windings is essential, without it, conventional materials are not suitable for the application. However, with materials such as samarium cobalt magnets and winding insulation materials with higher thermal capabilities, the machine achieves a significant thermal margin.
The over-modulation strategy developed is able to control the currents and voltages going from linear modulation to six-step modulation. The transition from linear to six-step is controlled with an algorithm in order to make it a smooth as possible. The over-modulation strategy works but the transition from linear modulation to six-step is not as smooth as desired. The thermal simulation showed that SiC transistors significantly reduces the cooling requirements compared to IGBTs. Partly due to its lower losses, but also because SiC transistors can operate under higher temperatures than IGBTs can. Although the performance differed a lot even between the two different SiC transistors used.}},
author = {{Nilsson, Truls and Frennfelt, Niklas}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{CODEN:LUTEDX/TEIE}},
title = {{Electric Drivetrain for Gas Turbines in Aviation Applications}},
year = {{2025}},
}