SBIR-STTR Award

An automated electrical load management system to provide load shedding during periods of high demand is required for adaptation to the V-22 Tilt-Rotor aircraft. A low cost and flexible system is required in order to extend current mission capabilities without significant overhaul of the electrical power system. Three steps toward solving this problem are: 1) determination of electrical load shedding possibilities, 2) selection of reliable components, and 3) Fabrication of a top level system design. Employing this concept would assist in improving flight crew's effectiveness and efficiency while at the same time providing for expanded aircraft mission capability

Keywords:
load management power factor correction electrical load shedding

The functional operation of an automated Electrical Load Management System for the V-22 Osprey will be demonstrated during the Phase II effort. Laboratory hardware will be fabricated that is operable for different mission types and over various flight profiles. The operation will be representative of the system control and interface through the cockpit display unit. The microprocessor based system will demonstrate nominal operation, and fault tolerance and fail safe modes by inducing various types of faults throughout the system. The Electrical Load Management System will be integrated into a system test rig which emulates the aircraft power generation sources, utilization loads, operating logic, and cockpit display uinit control. The detailed design performed during Phase II will provide comparisons of estimated vs. actual weights for hardware. This data may be integrated into the aircraft weight savings prediction for revisions based upon actual data. The detailed design will provide an accurate model for reliability calculations based upon actual component stress levels and operating parameters. The Phase II work will provide the foundation for system specifications, flight hardware, qualification hardware and tests, and software validation.

Keywords:
load management load management automated automated 1553 data bus 1553 data bus