Status and development of overcurrent protection devices for more electric aircraft applications

Abstract

Development of more electric aircraft (MEA) is fostering increasing requirements for higher performance Power Distribution Units (PDU). Overcurrent protection architectures and devices in PDU require more flexibility and better performance to accommodate system components and electric loads. Traditional electromagnetic overcurrent protection devices such as CBs, AFCBs, and RCCBs are reviewed and smart power management method enabled by latest Solid State Power Controllers (SSPCs) is surveyed. Design considerations of SSPCs are addressed by advances in wide-bandgap switching devices and performance characteristics of SSPCs are verified by different modeling methods.