Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

With the prevalence of more electric aircraft, future public transport aircraft rely more on electric power. The increased reliance on electric power makes aircraft more vulnerable to wiring problems and arc faults, which have already been identified as the likely cause of several tragic mishaps. There is an urgency to develop innovative techniques for fault detection and location, diagnostics, prognostics and health management (DPHM) of aircraft electrical systems, such as online wiring fault detection and location for aircraft power distribution systems. Such techniques will lead to safety and reliability improvement and support condition based maintenance (CBM) of aircraft electric power systems, which has substantial potential to reduce costs. The main objective of the proposed research project is to develop effective fault detection and location, and DPHM techniques for supporting CBM of aircraft electric systems based on modeling and analysis of aircraft electric power distribution systems and typical loads. The enhanced capability in aircraft power distribution systems consisting of smart contactors and solid state power controllers (SSPC), along with the advancement in communication and sensor technologies, has paved the way to introduce innovative techniques for supporting CBM, tackling fault detection and location, diagnosis, prognostics, and health monitoring issues. This project is aimed to develop more practical, efficient and reliable wiring fault detection and location algorithms and methods for dealing with aircraft electric systems faults, based on solid modeling and analysis, simulations and experimental studies. The proposed research program has the potential to generate innovative DPHM techniques for supporting CBM of aircraft electric systems and would contribute to training of highly qualified personnel in the areas of aircraft electric systems DPHM and CBM.