Protection systems architecture for all-electric aircraft

To reduce emissions from the aviation industry and meet the targets set by different countries, research has been focussed on investigating all-electric aircraft. In order to make this vision practical, superconducting machines are expected to use to power the propellers, as they are half the size and a third the weight of a conventional copper machine. In order to ensure the safe operation of the system a protection system must be placed. In this paper a cryogenic hybrid dc circuit breaker integrated with a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is suggested to be used for protection. The hybrid dc breaker ensures a fast disconnection of the system during a fault and the SFCL absorbs large fault currents protecting superconducting cables from damage. The system is built using MATLAB Simulink. The developed scheme is investigated to support the loads in case of voltage drop at the generator side. In addition, during fault periods, the developed scheme effectively limits the high fault currents and helps the generator to ride through the fault.