More Electric Aircraft Electro-Mechanical Actuator Regenerated Power Management

Under certain conditions Electro-Mechanical Actuators are able to regenerate, rather than consume electrical power. Within the More Electric Aircraft this possibility must be carefully considered in order to ensure safe and stable operation of the electrical systems. This paper assesses various strategies for the management of regenerated power in the More Electric Aircraft. A range of options are considered and the advantages/disadvantages of each are discussed. This includes considerations of safety and stability but also weight, component minimization, cost and potential utilization of the regenerated energy. Key aspects which are investigated in this paper are the effect of increased DC bus voltage on the management of regenerated energy and an assessment of the feasibility of returning energy to the engine inertia. It is shown that increased DC link voltage has distinct advantages when employed in combination with current architectures. However if a fundamental change to system architecture is utilized then this brings very significant benefits.