POWER GENERATION AND

DISTRIBUTION
IN AIRCRAFTS
Power Network
POWER GENERATION IN AIRCRAFTS
Elements Of Aircraft Electrical System:
• An aircraft electrical system is mainly composed of :
• Power sources
• Components
- Control devices
- Conversion devices
- Protection devices.
• Power distribution systems
• Electrical loads
Electrical Power Sources
Electricity power sources on an aircraft may be classified into two
groups :
• Batteries
- Lead-acid
- Nickel-cadmium
• Generators
- DC generators
- AC generators
• Equipment that commonly uses the electrical system for its source of
energy includes:

Position lights, Anti-collision lights, Landing lights, Taxi lights, Interior

cabin lights, Instrument lights, Radio equipment, Turn indicator, Fuel
gauges, Electric fuel pump, Stall warning system, Pitot heat, Starting
motor
 Battery
- To provide power when no other power source is available
- To assist in damping transient loads in the dc system
 Lead-acid battery
• It is usually found in piston aircraft.
• It is made up of cells which have positive/negative plates of lead and
filled with electrolyte of sulfuric acid and water.
• Each cell has app. 2.2v, but is simply rated as 2 v.
 Nickel-Cadmium Cell
They are the most common type of battery used in turboprop and
turbojet aircraft.
 Generators
• A generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy by the process of electromagnetic induction
• They are driven by the engine(s), and sometimes by APU.
 DC Generators
• Commutator in the generator converts the ac current to dc current.
• Most aircraft do not have a separate dc generator, but ac produced by
ac generator is converted to dc to power dc systems.
Basic DC Generator
 AC Generator
• On most large aircraft high-load electrical devices are usually AC
powered.
• AC generators use slip rings instead of commutators to provide the
current to the circuits.
Basic AC Generator
Modern electrical power generation Types
Mainly two types of electrical power generation currently in use on
aircraft.
- Constant frequency Integrated drive
generators (IDG)
- Variable speed constant frequency
(VSCF) generators
 Constant Speed IDG
• An alternator and constant speed drive unit combination is called
integrated drive generator (IDG).
• It is the most commonly used power generation method on today
turbine-powered aircraft.
• CSD provides a constant alternator rpm within a specified engine rpm
range.
Constant Speed Drive
 VSCF
• In this method, the variable frequency power produced by the
alternator is converted to constant frequency 400 Hz, 115 vac by
solid-state devices electronically.
• Thus there is no need for CSD unit.
• It is a new technique and limited in use
Auxiliary Power Unit
Ram Air Turbine
 Summary
• Electrical power typically comes from the battery (or backup battery)
prior to engine start, and from engine-driven generators once the
engine is running. Power can also come from the APU (used on the
ground to avoid draining the battery or in the air in an emergency), or
from a ram-air turbine if one is installed.
WIRES AND CABLES
• Different electrical and electronic components in aircraft are
interconnected with wires and cables.
• Types of wires and cables:
1. Airframe wires and cables
2. Equipment wires and cables
3. Ignition system cables
4. Thermocouple cables
5. Data bus cables
6. Radio frequency cables
• Generally cables are multi-stranded to make flexible and to withstand
the vibrations.
• Wiring generally follows US military specifications in M22759/x-xx-x
standards.
• Conductors are shielded by insulation and outer shield.
Distribution of Power Supplies
• Electrical power is supplied to the various loads in the aircraft via common points
called busbars

• Aircrafts are broadly divided into three types:

1. Single engine/general aviation aircraft
2. Twin engine general aviation aircraft
3. Larger aircraft systems
 Single engine/general aviation aircraft
• It contains only one generator and a battery supply.

Fig. Battery busbar schematic

 Fig. Split avionic bus schematic

Fig. Alternator/busbar schematic

• External power supply

Fig. External power supply schematic

Fig. External ground power 3-pin connector
 Twin engine general aviation aircraft
• Each engine drives its own generator, and the outputs are supplied to a
common battery busbar.

Fig. Simple twin engine equalizing system schematic

Carbon Pile Regulators
• The variable resistance is achieved with a stack (or pile) of carbon
discs(washers)
• The surface of each disc is relatively rough, applying pressure to the discs
creates more surface contact, thereby reducing the resistance of the pile.
• The voltage coil acts like an electromagnet that increases or decrease
strength as generator output voltage changes.
Larger aircraft systems
• The different buses in these aircrafts are:
1. Main bus : this is sometimes called the non essential, generator, or load
bus.
eg. galleys, in-flight entertainment (IFE) and main cabin lights

2. Essential bus: this is sometimes called the vital or safety bus.

eg. equipment and instruments required for the continued safe operation of the aircraft

3. Battery bus: this is sometimes called the standby, or emergency bus.

eg. radios, fuel control, landing gear and fire protection
Different buses
in aircrafts
Types Of Distribution System Architecture
• Split Bus (Non-Parallel)System
• Parallel System
• Split/Parallel System
Split bus system (Non-Parallel)
• Right and Left generators feed their own bus-bars to which specific loads
are connected
• The advantage of a split-bus system is that the generators do not need to be
operating at exactly the same frequency or inphase.
• Each generator bus is connected to a transfer bus via transfer relays. In the
event of a generator failure, the remaining generator (engine or APU)
supplies essential loads.
TRU –
TRANSFORMER
RECTIFIER UNITS

GCB – GENERATOR
CIRCUIT
BREAKERS

BTB – BUS TIE

BREAKERS

GS – GROUND
SUPPLY
 Parallel Bus System
• Used in larger passenger aircraft (with three or four engines)
• All generators are connected to their own AC load bus and a common
distribution bus
• Load is shared among generators
• All generator voltages, frequencies and phase relationships must be
controlled to very close tolerances.
Parallel Bus System
Split/Parallel Bus System
• Used in larger passenger aircraft
• Flexible load distribution system
• Advantages of the parallel system and maintains isolation when
needed
• Any generator can supply any load bus-bar; any combination of
generators can operate in parallel.
Standby And Essential Power
• Essential 115 VAC power is provided as a single phase supply
• This is selected from one phase of a main bus-bar
• Battery bus-bars and Hot Battery bus-bar
 AC/DC standby
and essential power
 Control and Protection
• Current Transformers
• Differential Current Protection
• Phase Protection
• Breakers/Contactors