Concept and prototyping of an active mains filter for aerospace application

摘要

The requirements for high efficiency and low weight of subsystems in aerospace has led to increased research in power electronic devices. These play an important role in present and future airplanes. One major topic is the substitution of conventional hydraulic or pneumatic systems with electrical systems such as electrical environmental condition system (E-ECS). The power rating of these systems increases constantly. As part of the FP6 European Integrated Project, MOET [1], a 70kW inverter for an E-ECS was developed [2]. Conventionally, the DC-link voltage is generated using state-of-the-art topologies, most commonly active power factor correction (APFC) or autotransformer rectifier unit (ATRU). Active power filters represent an interesting alternative to these topologies. Due to high supply frequencies, which can vary between 360 and 800 Hz, the use of active filters in airplanes is more complex. A fast and robust tracking algorithm has to be implemented and a high switching frequency of the power switches is necessary to compensate for the harmonics. This paper presents a concept and prototype of an active parallel power filter designed for weight-optimised aerospace applications.