IEEE Electrification Magazine - December 2017 - 2

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Welcome Aboard
the More Electric
Aircraft
By Bulent Sarlioglu and Babak Nahid-Mobarakeh

N THIS SPECIAL ISSUE, YOU ARE INVITED TO TRAVEL
through the air to the future. This flight passes through
the most recent theoretical developments and emerging technologies that will make future air transportation greener,
quieter, safer, and more economical.
The more electric aircraft has become a reality with the introduction of new commercial transport aircrafts, i.e., the Boeing
787 and the Airbus A350. Around 1 MW of power is produced by
the four main-engine generators of the Boeing 787 to supply
power to its many electrical subsystems. Two good examples of
the electrified systems in the Boeing 787 are the main-engine
start and the environmental control system for cabin pressurization and temperature control. Electric machines and power electronic converters and controls are used to start the main engine
and drive the compressors, pumps, and fans. In addition, wing
anti-icing is performed using electric power instead of pneumatic power. There are two auxiliary power unit (APU) generators,
each with more than 100 kW, used to start the main engines and
provide emergency power in the event that the main generators
or the main engine becomes inoperable.
There are many ongoing efforts to develop more aircraft
electric systems, and many architectural studies are under way
to benefit from this electrification. Airlines want aircrafts to be
less expensive to procure, be more economical to fly, and have
high dispatch reliability. Many interesting ideas exist, including
e-taxi, electrification of actuation systems, and even electrification of the main propulsion.
Engineers are starting to develop aircraft propulsion using
either hybrid or fully electric systems. Potential energy sources
include fuel cells, batteries, and solar energy. The power density
of electric motors, power electronic converters, and energy storage systems is being investigated. For example, NASA is developing an experimental airplane called the X-57 that has a unique
wing design and uses 14 electric motors to spin the distributed
propellers. Airbus designed the E-Fan aircraft that hosts two

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2

EDITORIAL BOARD
Iqbal Husain
Editor-in-Chief
North Carolina State
University
North Carolina, USA
ihusain2@ncsu.edu
Tamas Ruzsanyi
Editor, Electric Trains
Ganz-Skoda
Hungary
tamas.ruzsanyi@ieee.org
Eduardo Pilo de la Fuente
Editor, Electric Trains
EPRail Research
and Consulting
Spain
eduardo.pilo@eprail.com
Jose Conrado Martinez
Editor, Electric Trains
Directcion de Estrategia
y Desarrollo
Spain
jcmartinez@adif.es
Suryanarayana Doolla
Editor, Microgrid
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
India
suryad@iitb.ac.in
Mohammad
Shahidehpour
Editor, Microgrid
Illinois Institute
of Technology
Illinois, USA
ms@iit.edu
Steve Pullins
Editor, Microgrid
GridIntellect
Tennessee, USA
steve@gridintellect.com
Antonello Monti
Editor, Microgrid
RWTH Aachen
Germany
amonti@eonerc.
rwth-aachen.de
Marta Molinas
Editor, Electric Ships
Norwegian University of
Science and Technology
Norway
marta.molinas@ntnu.no
Herb Ginn
Editor, Electric Ships
University of
South Carolina
South Carolina, USA
ginnhl@cec.sc.edu
Robert Cuzner
Editor, Electric Ships
University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Wisconsin, USA
Cuzner@uwm.edu

Chris Searles
Editor, Electric Vehicles
BAE Batteries
Wisconsin, USA
Chris.Searles@baebatteriesusa.com
Silva Hiti
Editor, Electric Vehicles
Faraday Future
California, USA
silva.hiti@ff.com
Eduard Muljadi
Editor, Electric Vehicles
NREL: Wind Research
Colorado, USA
eduard.muljadi@nrel.gov
Syed A. Hossain
Editor, Electric Planes
GE Aerospace
Ohio, USA
syed.hossain@ge.com
Kaushik Rajashekara
Editor, Electric Planes
University of Houston
Texas, USA
ksraja@central.uh.edu
Babak Nahid-Mobarakeh
Editor, Electric Planes
University of Lorraine
France
Babak.nahid@ieee.org
Bulent Sarlioglu
Editor, Electric Planes
University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Wisconsin, USA
bulent@engr.wisc.edu
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Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2017.2758878
Date of publication: 26 December 2017

Khwaja Rahman
Editor, Electric Vehicles
General Motors
Michigan, USA
khwaja.rahman@gm.com

IE E E E l e c t r i f i c ati o n M agaz ine / DECEMBER 2017

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2017.2755238
http://www.iesusa.com http://www.rwth-aachen.de
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - December 2017
