Dual Mode Electrical Accumulator Unit (DMEAU)

Electrical motors are rapidly replacing hydraulic motors in flight actuators for military/civil aircraft applications. In hydraulic systems, accumulators are used to store regenerative energy from the hydraulic actuators as well as to supply peak energy demands of these actuators in response to demands of the flight control system. No electrical analog (Electrical Accumulator Unit) exists in production although some prototype hardware has been demonstrated to store/supply transient electric energy (~100 Kwatt spikes). Advanced EAU designs merge the emergency power function (battery energy storage) with the transient electrical energy function. This latter design also includes the battery charging function. At the same time, military aircraft use Inverter/Converter/Control (ICC) units to supply power to electrical machines for engine starting and to supply 270 VDC power to the aircraft when the engines are running. For this proposal, a feasibility study/preliminary design effort will be undertaken to merge the advanced EAU with the ICC , both electrically and physically. The resultant Dual Mode EAU (DMEAU) will have the following functions: emergency power, transient energy supply/storage, battery charging, engine starting and 270 VDC aircraft power generation. The DMEAU will fit into the current space of the ICC and utilized the current ICC cooling. BENEFIT: This feasibility study/preliminary design will clearly show the viability of combining the functions which are now housed in the separate EAU and ICC Units. The savings will be space/weight/cost (parts count reduction). The Dual Mode Electrical Accumulator Unit could be applied to several thousand high performance aircraft.