Page 16 - PEN eBook October2023
P. 16
SEMICONDUCTOR
GaN Components
Utilized in Pre-Sizing a
Modular High-Power
DC/DC Converter
By Saumitra Jagdale, contributing writer for Power Electronics News
Recent trends in engineering aircraft are shifting toward a more electric aircraft (MEA)
paradigm—increasing the use of electric energy over pneumatic and hydraulic energies to power
on-board systems. Implementation of MEA has some undeniable advantages, such as energy efficiency
and low-cost maintenance, which are imminent to see from its increasing implementation in recent
aircraft like the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 787. To incorporate the same, significant revisions to the
electric power supply architecture are inevitable to ensure the best performance.
The electric power architecture is based on multiple on-board grids, both interconnected and
galvanically isolated. Also, there are two network voltage levels: a 28-VDC standard low-voltage DC
(LVDC) bus to power the control devices and a 270-VDC/540-VDC high-voltage DC (HVDC) bus for power
actuators. Power conversion is key to the implementation of a more electric approach, outlining the
quantifiable benefits of switching from a single converter based on directly adapted components to a
multi-converter structure adopting the most appropriate components to achieve a given specification.
Major challenges when it comes to MEA are developing smaller and lighter electric power systems;
hence, the architecture is to be centered around power density and power-to-weight ratio.
According to the literature, wide-bandgap technologies can be credited to achieving up to a 2-kW/kg
16 OCTOBER 2023 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com
