Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft
New aerodynamic aircraft concepts enable the storage of volumetric liquid hydrogen (LH2). Additionally, the low temperatures of LH2 allow technologies such as the superconductivity of electrical components. An increased power density of the onboard wiring harness and the electrical machine can be ex...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2022-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9978629/ |
| _version_ | 1828084454303727616 |
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| author | Hendrik Schefer Wolf-Rudiger Canders Jan Hoffmann Regine Mallwitz Markus Henke |
| author_facet | Hendrik Schefer Wolf-Rudiger Canders Jan Hoffmann Regine Mallwitz Markus Henke |
| author_sort | Hendrik Schefer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | New aerodynamic aircraft concepts enable the storage of volumetric liquid hydrogen (LH2). Additionally, the low temperatures of LH2 allow technologies such as the superconductivity of electrical components. An increased power density of the onboard wiring harness and the electrical machine can be expected. Nevertheless, the power electronic drive inverter has to deliver high power and high switching frequencies (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{\mathrm {PWM}}\text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) under challenging conditions. Therefore, knowledge of the electric behaviour of different semiconductor materials under cryogenic temperatures is essential to answer the question: “Are modern power electronics a technology enabler or a system bottleneck?” This publication shows a comprehensive novelty study for cryogenic power electronics based on experimental-driven semiconductor investigations, mission profile-based considerations, requirement analyses of superconducting electrical machines, and studies of the cooling concepts. All aspects are discussed within one interdisciplinary publication. A cryogenic system cannot be considered without a feasible cooling concept. Different semiconductor structures based on various materials (silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN)) are evaluated for their suitability. The collected data and the literature review draw a technology feasibility studies supported by detailed cooling system analyses and superconducting electrical machine requirements. The power demand and high <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{\mathrm {PWM}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> lead to a SiC non-cryogenic inverter approach. Due to the detailed cooling system assessment, a loss reduction is achieved by optimising the junction temperature (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{\mathrm {J}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) under various load cases (LCs) out of the mission profile. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:25:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acefdb97df0944a9a197e2dedad1d4c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:25:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-acefdb97df0944a9a197e2dedad1d4c52022-12-30T00:00:22ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-011013327913330810.1109/ACCESS.2022.32281619978629Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance AircraftHendrik Schefer0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9771-6168Wolf-Rudiger Canders1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4430-7069Jan Hoffmann2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9501-0874Regine Mallwitz3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8176-0380Markus Henke4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1544-6123Cluster of Excellence SE2A–Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, GermanyInstitute for Electrical Machines, Traction and Drives, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, GermanyCluster of Excellence SE2A–Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, GermanyCluster of Excellence SE2A–Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, GermanyCluster of Excellence SE2A–Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, GermanyNew aerodynamic aircraft concepts enable the storage of volumetric liquid hydrogen (LH2). Additionally, the low temperatures of LH2 allow technologies such as the superconductivity of electrical components. An increased power density of the onboard wiring harness and the electrical machine can be expected. Nevertheless, the power electronic drive inverter has to deliver high power and high switching frequencies (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{\mathrm {PWM}}\text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) under challenging conditions. Therefore, knowledge of the electric behaviour of different semiconductor materials under cryogenic temperatures is essential to answer the question: “Are modern power electronics a technology enabler or a system bottleneck?” This publication shows a comprehensive novelty study for cryogenic power electronics based on experimental-driven semiconductor investigations, mission profile-based considerations, requirement analyses of superconducting electrical machines, and studies of the cooling concepts. All aspects are discussed within one interdisciplinary publication. A cryogenic system cannot be considered without a feasible cooling concept. Different semiconductor structures based on various materials (silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN)) are evaluated for their suitability. The collected data and the literature review draw a technology feasibility studies supported by detailed cooling system analyses and superconducting electrical machine requirements. The power demand and high <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{\mathrm {PWM}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> lead to a SiC non-cryogenic inverter approach. Due to the detailed cooling system assessment, a loss reduction is achieved by optimising the junction temperature (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{\mathrm {J}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) under various load cases (LCs) out of the mission profile.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9978629/Long-distance aircraftfuel cellliquid hydrogencryogenic cooler designhigh temperature superconductivitycryogenic electrical power supply system |
| spellingShingle | Hendrik Schefer Wolf-Rudiger Canders Jan Hoffmann Regine Mallwitz Markus Henke Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft IEEE Access Long-distance aircraft fuel cell liquid hydrogen cryogenic cooler design high temperature superconductivity cryogenic electrical power supply system |
| title | Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft |
| title_full | Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft |
| title_fullStr | Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft |
| title_short | Cryogenically-Cooled Power Electronics for Long-Distance Aircraft |
| title_sort | cryogenically cooled power electronics for long distance aircraft |
| topic | Long-distance aircraft fuel cell liquid hydrogen cryogenic cooler design high temperature superconductivity cryogenic electrical power supply system |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9978629/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hendrikschefer cryogenicallycooledpowerelectronicsforlongdistanceaircraft AT wolfrudigercanders cryogenicallycooledpowerelectronicsforlongdistanceaircraft AT janhoffmann cryogenicallycooledpowerelectronicsforlongdistanceaircraft AT reginemallwitz cryogenicallycooledpowerelectronicsforlongdistanceaircraft AT markushenke cryogenicallycooledpowerelectronicsforlongdistanceaircraft |