Active Rectifier Using DQ Vector Control for Aircraft Power System

There is a general move in the aerospace industry to increase the amount of electrically powered equipment on future aircraft. This is generally referred to as the "more electric aircraft" and brings on a number of technical challenges that need to be addressed and overcome. Recent advancements in power electronics technology are enabling new systems to be developed and applied to aerospace applications. The growing trend is to connect the AC generator to the aircraft engine via a direct connection or a fixed ratio transmission thus, resulting in the generator providing a variable frequency supply. This move offers benefits to the aircraft such as reducing the weight and improving the reliability. Many aircraft power systems are now operating with a variable frequency over a typical range of 350 Hz to 800 Hz which varies with the engine speed[1,2]. This paper presents the results from a simple scheme for an adaptive control algorithm which could be suitable for use with an electric actuator (or other) aircraft load. The design of this system poses significant challenges due to the nature of the load range and supply frequency variation and requires many features such as: 1) Small input current harmonics to minimize losses., 2) Minimum size and weight to maximize portability and power density. Details will be given on the design methodology and simulation results obtained.