The Electrical Aircraft Network—Benefits and Drawbacks of Modifications

Many design objectives drive airplane development. Often aircraft weight reduction is the focus, with due consideration also given to safety, function, and performance. Aircraft weight reduction directly translates into fuel savings followed by reduced CO₂ emission, and thus it supports environmental protection. A set of approaches to optimize the electrical system has been investigated for very large modern civil aircraft. Three of these approaches are presented and their benefits and drawbacks are discussed. Firstly the effects of a 230 VAC supply applied to all alternating current consumers of the electrical system are looked at. Secondly the idea of a central power center located in the middle of the aircraft is reviewed. Thirdly the consequences of a shift of allowed voltage drops from one part in the electrical system to others are considered. The investigations presented are part of the German-Spitzencluster-Wettbewerb-which is funded by the German Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (Fkz.: 03CL03A).