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Implementation of a Solid-State Power Controller for High-Voltage DC Grids

in Aircraft

Article · January 2015

DOI: 10.17877/DE290R-7742

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 Implementation of a Solid-State Power Controller for
High-Voltage DC Grids in Aircraft

Michael Terörde, Florian Grumm, Detlef Schulz Housam Wattar, Jens Lemke
Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Airbus Group Innovation
Armed Forces Hamburg Hamburg
[email protected]

Abstract—Conventional electrical distribution systems onboard supply loads with a low power consumption. SSPCs were first
aircraft use a three-phase system with a typical voltage of 115 used on 28 VDC grids in military ground platforms. The fuses
VAC or 230 VAC to supply electrical loads. Future aircraft demand and circuit breakers were replaced by more reliable and faster
more electric power due to the replacement of hydraulic and
electronic components. The first civil passenger aircraft with a
pneumatic systems by electrical ones and the increased use of
wide use of SSPCs is the A380 from Airbus [3], [4]. A SSPC
multimedia entertainment systems. However, the aircraft weight
can be decreased if a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) grid
consists of power semiconductors and several components like
with a voltage level of ±270 VDC or 540 VDC is implemented to shown in Figure 1. SSPCs can be remote-controlled, do not arc
supply the electrical loads. These higher voltages reduce cable and can switch currents within 3 μs [3]. They allow an arc fault
weight, but are a new challenge for solid-state power controllers protection and an active control of current limits. They can also
(SSPC), which are used as protection devices for cables and be used for power management functions. But SSPCs are more
loads. Currently available SSPCs are limited to lower voltages expensive compared to circuit breakers and normally depend
and currents mainly because of the available power on an external energy source with a typical voltage of 28 VDC.
semiconductors. A SSPC for aircraft applications with a nominal
At present, MOSFETs made of silicon (Si) are used. Due to
voltage of 540 VDC and a nominal load current of 10 A has been
the large specific resistance at higher blocking voltages Si is
developed at the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg in
cooperation with Airbus Group Innovation using SiC-MOSFETs
inferior to silicon carbide (SiC) [6]. Besides the lower specific
and has been tested. In this paper the design and experimental on-resistance at high voltages the maximum allowed
results are presented. The SSPC is able to supply itself from the temperature is higher (200°C). The use of SiC JFETs need an
high voltage autarkic and can accomplish various functions. additional 28 VDC grid because it is a normally on-device.

Keywords: Aircraft, Circuit Breaker, More Electric Aircraft, 115 VAC

Silicon-Carbid, Solid State Power Controller 28 VDC

5 VDC internal
DC/DC converter
V
I. INTRODUCTION 24 VDC / 5 VDC
control
24 VDC

The demand for passenger and cargo aircraft is predicted to signal galvanic
isolated control
logic
rise in the next decades. Especially due to increasing oil prices communication
(CAN) isolated gate
the airline demand more efficient and lighter aircraft because driver
the operating costs are up to 50 % of the overall costs [1]. By Microcontroller
x short-circuit detection
improving the aircraft the electrical system is of special focus x over-voltage protection
since the electrical power demand is rising. This is accounted x over-temperature protection
A
x arc fault detection
by the concept of More Electric Aircraft and the intensify AC-SSPC

demand of multimedia entertainment systems by the

A current sensor V voltage sensor
passengers. load

Conventional aircraft use a three-phase system with 115 Figure 1. Basic set-up of AC Solid State Power Controller [11]
VAC or 230 VAC by either a fixed frequency of 400 Hz or a
variable frequency in range of 360 Hz to 800 Hz for most of
the electrical consumers [2]. Also a 28-VDC-grid is used to

P02.8
 II. FUTURE GRIDS • ID (25°C) = 40 A (ID: drain current)
• ID (100°C) = 24 A
It is often suggested to use a high-voltage DC grid (HVDC)
• ID max = 100 A
in future aircraft with only one voltage level of weather 270 • VBR(DS) = 1,200 V (VBR(DS): breakdown voltage)
VDC, ±270 VDC or 540 VDC [3], [7], [8], [9]. The voltage value • RDS(ON) = 80 mΩ (RDC(on): drain-source resistance)
of 270 VDC is obtained by rectifying the conventional 115 VAC • max. PV = 215 to 273 W (PV: power loss)
of classical aircraft generators. The voltage of ±270 VDC or 540 • VGS = -10 V to 25 V (VGS gate-source voltage)
VDC are obtained by rectifying newer 230 VAC aircraft • EAS = 2.2 J (EAS: avalanche energy)
generators [10]. Thereby, the high voltage leads to cable weight
reduction and the DC leads to lighter electronic converters
compared to AC/AC or AC/DC converters [1]. Since the DC isolated CAN-
linear regulator for
microcontroller control-PC
current does not automatically crosses zero twice per cycle 24 V supply interface

during a fault like in an AC power system, the protection is

more complex. Conventional circuit breaker would arc in such gate drive cirucuit
a case and are relatively slow in shutting down a failure. If
SSPCs are used for primary flight system they are considered shunt

540 VDC
essential meaning a claim of a high reliability is necessary. output
540 VDC
input fuse and input current and
voltage output voltage
III. NEW SIC-BASED HVDC-SSPC measurement SiC-
MOSFETs
measurement

To demonstrate the functionality of a HVDC-SSPC in

HVDC grids a prototype has to be developed. The following
requirements are defined for the new HVDC-SSPC:
x rated voltage of 540 VDC Figure 2. Schematic of the new HVDC-SSPC

x short-time high-voltage capable of 1 kV Higher voltage spikes than the MOSFET rating, due to
x nominal current of 10 A inductive load switching, are suppressed by two transient
x nominal power 5,4 kW voltage suppressor diodes (TVS-diodes) in series connection,
x low voltage drop each having a rating of 450 V. Positive voltage spike for source
Different I2t-curves are implemented for different current to drain are not blocked due to the inherent body-diode. The
values of 3 A, 7 A and 10 A imitating a thermal fuse behavior. schematic showing the basic modules is shown in Figure 2.
Additional goal of the research was that the new SSPC should The main components are the two parallel SiC-MOSFETs, the
be supplied by the primary voltage and not being dependent on gate drive circuit including the isolated DC/DC-converters,
an external 28-VDC-supply. The communication should be bias power supply (linear regulator) and input/output circuits to
realized using the controller are network (CAN), which is the measure and to control the device. Two SiC-MOSFETs in
state of the art in aircraft systems. The new SSPC is able to parallel are sufficient to satisfy the maximum allowed voltage
shut off by: drop at nominal load current. Using several sensors to
determine the input voltage, output voltage, the load current
x overcurrent and the temperature turns the SSPC into a monitoring system.
x over-voltage The current is sensed using a high voltage current shunt
x over-temperature 80°C monitor of type AD8212 combined with a pnp-bipolar junction
Additionally, under-voltage and under-temperature ratings transistor (BJT) to withstand the high voltage. The SSPC shall
can be implemented. Using the voltage and current sensors be activated with a CAN bus. Thereby, the SSPC can
capacitive loads can be monitored. An additional conventional communicate the electrical and thermal measures to the main
thermal fuse is implemented on the printed circuit board (PCB) controller.
as a backup option in case the SSPC’s power switches are The semiconductor losses PV are:
faulty, making the SSPC very reliable. ܲ୚ ൌ ʹ ή ሺͷሻଶ ή ͺͲπ ൌ Ͷ
Si-MOSFETs are not suited for this application because of Choosing low energy parts, the own power consumption PE
the lower voltage level. The SiC-MOSFETs used are of the device is:
APT40SM120 from Microsemi with the parameters: ܲ୉ ൌ ʹͶ ή ͳͶ ൌ Ͳǡ͵Ͷ

P02.8
 The power loss Pnpn270 produced by the npn-BJT of the The complete SSPC is inserted into a case made of
linear regulator is: transparent Makrolon (polycarbonate) allowing visual
ܲ୬୮୬ଶ଻଴ ൌ ሺʹ͹Ͳ െ ʹͶሻ ή ͳͶ ൌ ͵ǡͶ inspection, as shown in appendix Figure 9. It can withstand
To cool the npn-BJT a big cooling device with a thermal temperatures up to 150°C and voltages beyond 10 kV. Small
resistance of 6 K/W is used. drills distributed on the case allow air circulation. The npn-
The SSPC is autarkic because it is supplied from the main BJT as well as the SiC-MOSFETs are equipped with heat
high DC voltage using a linear regulator shown in Figure 3. sinks.
The npn-BJT (BJT1) is blocking the main part of the high
voltage and is controlled in such a way by the zener diode ZD
IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
with a breakdown-voltage of 28 V that the voltage across the
capacitor CDC is nearly constant 28 V. The resistor RZ is The basic test setup for the experiments is shown in Figure
limiting the maximum current through the zener diode. Test 5. The voltage VIN is generated by multiple DC power supplies
showed that to activate the microcontroller an input voltage of of type SM 660-AR-11. The load is represented by a Chroma
at least 120 V is necessary. 63803 electrical load. The measurements have been done
using an oscilloscope LeCroy WaveRunner HRO 64Zi and
540 VDC temperature camera FLIR I7. The SSPC should withstand the
Vin requirements made in MIL-STD-704 rev. F extrapolated to
540VDC. The SSPC is typically activated allowing a load to be
RZ
supplied and the electrical parameters to be monitored. In case
BJT1 of improper operation conditions the SSPC turns-off and sends
V28V
a failure message via CAN to the control-PC.

ZD CDC VSSPC
Iin Iload

SiC-DC-
Vin Zload Vload
SSPC
Figure 3. Linear regulator to achieve an autarkic HVDC-SSPC

A picture of the top side of the HVDC-SSPC showing the

CAN
main components can be seen in Figure 4. At the bottom-side
only small surface mount devices are installed (e.g. CAN- PC
transceiver, temperature sensor, backup thermal fuse, TVS-
diodes). Figure 5. Basic test setup
24 V 540 V
Ground connector connector
The following tests have been accomplished:

x test by maximum MOSFET voltage (MOSFETs

npn-transistor turned-off)
x switching at high voltage and different current ratings
JTAG DC/DC-
converter x measuring the SSPC temperature by 270 V and
different current ratings
SiC-MOSFET
x testing thermal fuse behavior (I2t behavior)
Microcontroller-
board

The temperature curve at Vin = 270 VDC at different load

currents is shown in Figure 6. With uninterrupted load currents
Shunt
of 3 A, 7 A, 10 A and 15 A the device’s temperature has been
measured every 10 s, starting from a room temperature of
25°C. At the lowest load current of 3 A the steady-state
CAN-interface temperature of 40°C is reached after 60 s. The hottest part in
output
this case is the npn-BJT of the linear regulator. The final
Figure 4. Toplayer of the HVDC-SSPC showing the main components temperature at a current of 7 A is 85°C and at 10 A is 125°C.

P02.8
The device attains temperatures up to 150°C at a load current to the used DC-source. This fast switching is sufficient for the
of 15 A. In all cases, except for 3 A, the hottest part has been aircraft application.
the SiC-MOSFETs According to aerospace requirements,
requiring the SSPC temperature to be lower than 90°C, the 3.5
A
SSPC is suited for loads that demand up to 7 A. Above 7 A the 3

current
device has to be equipped with a bigger passive heat sink or an 2.5

active cooler.
2
ILoad = 3 A

1.5

160
°C
In = 15 A 1
temperature

140

In = 10 A 0.5
120

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 ms 2
100 time
In = 7 A
80 Figure 8. Nominal load current of 3 A turned-on and off via the HVDC-
SSPC
60

40
In = 3 A All experimental tests prove the correct functionality of the
HVDC-SSPC.
20
0 100 200 300 400 500 s 600
time

Figure 6. Temperature curve by Vin = 270 VDC and different load currents
V. CONCLUSIONS
Another test with increasing currents shows the thermal The problem of building a suited solid-state power
fuse behavior of the SSPC in case the programmed nominal controller for future high-voltage DC grids in aircraft is
current limit is exceeded. Therefore, the time is measured after addressed. A prototype of a new HVDC-SSPC has been
the load current is flowing, being 0 A before. Two different described in detail. Therefore, SiC-MOSFETs have been used
nominal currents In (3 A and 7 A) were tested. With a preset instead of Si-MOSFETs. The HVDC-SSPC has been tested on
current rating of 3 A, a load current of 4 A is turned off after 7 a test bench and could fulfill all requirements. Thereby, fault
s. A load current of 6.5 A is accepted for 2.5 s. As can be seen protection and power management in DC grid with voltages up
in figure 7, the SSPC turns off immediately if the maximal to 540 VDC can be ensured. Future enhancements can include
overcurrent is reached. This thermal fuse behavior can easily arcing detection and soft-start capability to minimize inrush
be adapted by software. currents.

8
s
7 APPENDIX
time

6
In = 3 A
5
In = 7 A
4

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A 14
current

Figure 7. Reaction time of programmed fuse behavior

To demonstrate the basic SSPC-operation of fast switching,

a load current has frequently been turned-on and off every 500
Figure 9. The complete HVDC-SSPC with the polycarbonate case
μs with a nominal load current of 3 A and a voltage of 540 V
by the HVDC-SSPC as shown in Figure 8. The turn-on time is
20 μs and the turn-off time 3 μs. The turn-on time is higher due

P02.8
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