Motor drive technologies for the power-by-wire (PBW) program: options, trends and tradeoffs

Power-By-Wire (PBW) is a program involving the replacement of hydraulic and pneumatic systems currently used in aircraft with an all-electric secondary power system. One of the largest loads of the all-electric secondary power system will be the motor loads which include pumps, compressors and electrical actuators (EAs). Issues of improved reliability, reduced maintenance and efficiency, among other advantages, are the motivation for replacing the existing aircraft actuators with electrical actuators. An EA system contains four major components. These are the motor, the power electronic converters, the actuator and the control system, including the sensors. This paper is a comparative literature review of motor drive technologies, with a focus on the trends and tradeoffs involved in the selection of a particular motor drive technology. The reported research comprises three motor drive technologies. These are the induction motor (IM), the brushless dc motor (BLDCM) and the switched reluctance motor (SRM). Each of the three drives has the potential for application in the PBW program. Many issues remain to be investigated and compared between the three motor drives, using actual mechanical loads expected in the PBW program.