Although the focus hinges on Energy Optimized Aircraft (EOA) design, there are still many unanswered questions around subjects such as optimal power management, thermal management, and power generation and storage. Is there a better thermal management for more efficient aircraft energy handling and where is the potential in enhanced power electronics? Read the exclusive article together with the interview with Serge Roques, Senior Expert, Electromechanical Systems at Safran Engineering in France. "MEA - SPECIAL: New MEA Plane Designs / Interview with Safran Engineering" >> Download the full article for free here: http://bit.ly/ROQUES_article

1. MEA - SPECIAL:
New MEA Plane Designs & Interview with
Safran Engineering
Exciting MEA Plane Designs via Thermal Management,
Electric Components, and More
No doubt about it, as far as vehicles go, air planes are some of the biggest energy consumers on the planet,
contributing a not-inconsequential volume of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere every year.
Concerns over climate change and the rising cost of conventional fuels have pushed the airline industry in
directions that see aircraft designs becoming increasingly dominated by electrical systems rather than those
powered by jet fuel and other fossil-based energies.
The focus of most research into aircraft efficiency hinges on Energy Optimized Aircraft (EOA) design. The problem
is that there are still many unanswered questions regarding how to define an EOA, what systems technologies
are relevant for enabling optimization, and what how you measure an aircraft’s energy consumption in order
to determine goodness. As such, there is a great deal of discussion today around subjects ranging from optimal
power management, thermal management, and power generation and storage. It’s an exciting space with a
lot of progress being made every year.
Better Thermal Management for More Efficient Aircraft Energy Handling
Managing aircraft energy encompasses everything from on-board energy provisions to distribution to
consumption. Finding ways to more strategically manage the energy on an aircraft can vastly reduce the
amount of fuel burned or energy consumed per flight. Using advanced energy management functions and
architectures, aircraft designers are working toward the goal of producing an all-electric aircraft, but in order
to get there, two main challenges must be solved: controlling of heat exchanges and reducing heat waste
through thermal management.
In order to solve these dual challenges, aircraft systems designers are working on a variety of fronts. Not
only are they refining the generation, distribution, and conversion of electrical power, they’re fine-tuning
systems that already consume electricity to make them more efficient. What’s more, they’re perfecting thermal
management systems for aircraft engines while finding ways to recover and exchange energy to cut the waste
of heat.
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working to solve many of these challenges through their
Integrated Vehicle Energy Technology (INVENT) program which is focused on the development of adaptive,
smart aircraft power management systems and is one of four core projects of the EOA plan for improving the
energy efficiency of US stealth fighters. These planes currently require an upgrade to deal with two issues
that are inextricably linked. On the one hand, the Pentagon wants to reduce energy consumption, and on the
www.more-electric-aircraft.com
By Maryruth Belsey Priebe, Editor