AC El�ctrical Systems

Figure 1
Three-Phase, 115/200 VAC, 400 Hz AC Generator
MIL STD 704
By Fred George
High-voltage AC, short for alternating current, electrical systems are installed
in most large-cabin business jets because their electrically powered systems
require more power than those of smaller aircraft.
In AC systems, the positive and negative polarity alternates causing a reversal in
current flow direction. Positive and negative polarity remains the same in a DC
system and the current only flows in one direction. DC systems, using 14 or 28
volts, are great for smaller aircraft in which wiring runs are relatively short
and electrical equipment doesn't draw a lot of current. The size and weight of the
electrical components are relatively small because modest amounts of electrical
power are generated and consumed. Although power loss var�es as a function of wire
length and resistance, the relatively short wiring runs result in minimal power
loss. Low-voltage DC components typically are less expensive than AC equipment.
As aircraft grow larger, though, diere is a point at which the size and weight
of the 14-or 28-volt generators and motors become a liability. And power loss due
to the length of the wiring harness must be taken into consideration.
The amount of power of which an electrical system is capable var�es as a
function of voltage and current. Power equals voltage times amperage. Think of
voltage as electrical pressure and amperage as electrical flow rate. Both pressure
and flow are needed to gen�rate power. If you increase voltage by four times, you
can increase power output by the same amount for the same amount of current flow
in amps. For example, a 28 VDC quarter hp pump motor would need 6.75 amps, if it
were 100 percent efficient. But, if you redesigned it to run on 112 VDC, four
times the voltage, the pump motor could produce one hp at the same 6.75 amp
current flow.
Conversely, for a given amount of power, if you boost voltage by four times, you
only need one-quarter of the current. For example, a 28 VDC electric pump that
May 2006
46 Business & Commer�al Aviation

draws 27 amps of current would produce

about one hp if it were 100 percent e�Hcient
That requires relative heavy coil windings
in the motor compared. The same one-hp
pump, redesigned to run on 112 VDC,
needs only 6.75 amps, so it can be built with
much lighter weight and smaller windings.
Since the amount of current, not voltage,
determines required wire size, you also can
install smaller wiring in the aircraft if you
use higher voltage and lower amperage to
furn�sh the same amount of power. That
saves a considerable amount of wiring
harness weight.
There's a second, perhaps even more important, benefit to using higher voltage.
Power loss in wiring var�es as the square of the current flow, according to Ohm's
Law. If you're pushing 27 amps through a circuit instead of 6.75 amps, you'll have
16 times the power loss for a given length of wiring. That power loss means that
the aircraft's electrical generators will have to make up the difference in line
loss if the aircraft is designed for 28 VDC instead of 112 VDC.

Three-Phase 115/200 VAC 400 Hz Aircraft Power

Most large aircraft, though, don't use 112 VDC electrical systems. The majority
use 115/200 volt three-phase AC systems based on MIL STD 704, a venerable design
standard created by the U.S. military more than a half century ago. O�d as it may
be, the design standard works well because of the basic electrical principies
involved. MIL STD 704 now is in its sixth iteration.
Here's a br�ef overv�ew of �ow these legacy AC systems work. First, generators
produce electrical power in one of two ways. Armature coils must move through a
magnetic field. Or, the magnetic field must move through armature coils. AC
generators � also called alternators in low-voltage applications, such as in
automobiles � usually are designed with fixed armature coils and rotating magnetic
field coil assemblies to save weight.
In DC generators, relatively large armature coils usually ro�ate through a
stationary magnetic field. But heavy, large-capacity
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power conditioners (devices that convert the variable frequency AC power into
constant frequency AC power). The Bendix power converters aboard such Gulfstream
aircraft also have integral transformer rect�fier units that supply 28 VDC power
to some components.
Some newer aircraft with AC power systems, such as the Bombardier Global
Express, are designed to use variable frequency AC power. This eliminates the need
for either constant speed drives or power converters.
But most aircraft that have AC electrical systems use constant 400 Hz frequency
power. Designing the AC electrical generation system for 400 Hz operation, rather
than 50 or 60 Hz, also allows the use of smaller and lighter components. The 400
HZ generators spin at a faster speed than 60 Hz generators, enabling them to
produce more current with the same size components. However, higher frequency
systems encounter more voltage drop due to inductive reactance, or induction loss.
Think of an induction loss as electrical inertia. Just as it takes a lot of
energy to get a large toolbox rolling in the hangar, or get it stopped, it also
takes a lot of energy to get current fiowing one-way through a circuit
brushes and slip-rings are required to transfer the generated power from the
armature rotor to the output termin�is on the generator housing. A DC generator's
large armature, brushes and slip-rings, though, also enable it to function in
reverse as a motor. When DC power is applied to its termin�is, it can be used to
start the engine.
AC generators, particularly ones designed for aircraft use, typically have
armature windings that are fixed in position in the generator case and magnet�c
field coils that ro�ate inside, causing the magnet�c field to cross through the
armature coils thus generating current. Because the armature windings are fixed in
the generator case, all the current generated in them can be trans-ferred to the
output termin�is of the generator with no moving parts. This reduces weight, cost
and maintenance burden. But it also preven�s a conventional AC generator from
functioning as a motor to stari the engine. Engines of larger aircraft typically
depend upon air-driven motors for start�ng.
Bul ihe fixed armature design doesn't completely eliminate the need for slip-
rings and brushes in most AC generators. There needs to be a means by which
electr�city can be transferred to the field rotor windings in order to produce a
magnetic field. This is called "excitation voltage" or "excitation power" and it
can be provided by either the AC generator itself or an external source. Either
way, the excitation power usually is transferred to the field rotor by means of
small slip-rings and brushes. Aircraft AC generators typically have small
permanent magnet DC generators attached to the end of the field rotor. The DC
generator provides the power to excite the field rotor with no need for an
external electrical power source, enabling it to be "self exciting," or capable of
producing power without external stimulation. Relat�vely little current is needed
to excite the field windings, so there's not much stress or wear on the AC
generators brushes and slip-rings.
In order to produce constant frequency power, an AC generator has to spin at
constant speed. But the speed of a turbine engine var�es in relation to the thrust
or power requirement. So, complex automatic transmissions, called constant speed
drives, are fitted to the accessory gear cases of turbine engines having constant
frequency AC generators. In some cases, the constant speed drive is combined with
the AC generator and the result is known as an inte-grated drive generator.
Some aircraft have AC generators that are connected directly to the engine
accessory gear cases, causing frequency output to vary as a function of engine
speed. A few, such as late model Gulfstream III and all Gulfstream TV/400
aircraft, have solid-state

and then reverse its direction the other way because of inductance. As the speed
of alternation, or frequency, of current in a circuit increases, the effect of
induction, or electrical inertia, becomes greater. This principie is put to work
in very high-frequency induction heaters used in metal refining and manufacturing
and also in microwave ovens in which induction is used to heat food.
AC electrical system induction even occurs in straight wire runs, not just in
coils. If 400 Hz were used for municipal power systems, induction losses would be
substantial because of the size of the components and hundreds of miles of
transmissions lines. Moreover, there's absolutely no need to design municipal
power systems for weight savings. So, 50 Hz and 60 Hz AC is much better suited for
land use.
In aircraft, though, the relatively short length of the wire runs in most
aircraft and comparatively small electrical system components make the downside
from 400 Hz inductance loss almost negligible compared to the weight savings
benefits of the 400 Hz architecture.
But why use three-phase AC power instead of single-phase AC? This design feature
again boils down to power vs.
Figure 2
AC Electrical System

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Business & CommercialAviation � May 2006 47

parallel bus or split bus systems. All buses in a parallel system normally are
electrically connected together by fuses, circuit breakers or current limiters as
a common bus. They're only split into individual buses in the event of a short or
other nialfunction. This means that the output of each AC generator connected to
the system has to be precisely matched in terms of voltage and phase. The process
is complex, even with automated equipment, and small anomalies can cause an AC
generator to drop off line. Newer aircraft use split bus architecture. Each bus
normally has its own AC power supply and it op�rales independently from others
aboard the aircraft. Split buses are tied together only in the event that one of
the AC power supplies fails and a backup power source is needed.
Distribution, High- and Low-Voltage Equipment, DC and AC Systems
Please glance at Figure 2. The three-phase AC generators, depicted at the bottom
of the illustration, feed the left and right sides of the system with Phase A,
Phase B and Phase C circuits, plus an "N" or neutral line. The system also can be
supplied by a three-phase external AC power source. Each of the three main feeder
circuits is protected by its own circuit breaker, but
weight. Each addit�onal phase increases the total amount of AC power available as
a fonction of the square root of the number of phases. A two-phase system, for
instance, increases power by a factor of 1.414+, the square root of two. A two-
phase 115 VAC system, as a result, can produce 162+ volts of effective power. Now
please glance at Figure 1. Phase A, B or C of the three-phase AC system each
produces 115 volts. But Phase A, B and C together produce 199+ volts of effective
power� 115 volts times die square root of three. Each of the three phases rein-
forces the power available from the others. In aircraft systems, the 199+ volt
effective rating is rounded up to 200 volts, thus the �ame 115/200 volt, three-
phase power.
While more wires are needed for a three-phase AC system than a single-phase
system, the weight savings associated with using smaller parts and wires makes a
three-phase system lighter in weight than a single-phase 200 volt system. The four
smaller wires, for Phase A, B and C, plus the "N," or neutral Une, of a 115/200
VAC three-phase system actually weigh less than the two huge wires needed for a
single-phase 200 VAC design because each of the four carries so much less current.
Similar to DC electrical systems, AC electrical systems may be designed as
FigureS
DC Electrical System

we've chosen not to depict them in the interest of simplicity.

Aboard our sample aircraft, the three-phase power feeds into left and right AC
transfer buses, which actually are groups of three buses, one for each phase. From
the AC transfer buses, power is fed to main, essential and non-essential triple-
bar sub buses. \VfeVe elected to depict each of diese triple-bar buses as single
circuit buses to avoid clutter on the illustration. That's also how three-phase
buses are depicted in most technical training manuals designed for pilots.
Virtually all individual three-phase loads, powered by the various triple-bar
buses, are protected by single circuit breakers. The single CBs, though, actually
are linked directly, or by means of relays, to all three-phase circuits. If one or
more of the circuits shorts out, the breaker pops, thus inter-rupting current flow
to all three-phase circuits. Yon don't need to troubleshoot the problem in depth
by finding out which phase circuit is shorted, causing the breaker to pop. You
just need to follow the abnormal or emergency procedures checklist and take
appropriate steps in the cockpit to remedy or work around the problem.
Three-phase, 115/200 VAC power, 400 Hz power is ideal for "heavy lifting"
chores, such as electrically powering fuel boost and hydraulic pumps that have a
requirement for high starting torque. High load devices, such as these, typically
use three-phase, high-torque, induction motors. These devices are so named because
the magnet�c field of the motor's stator induces an electrical current into the
coils of the rotor, which in turn, is used to energize a second magnetic field in
the armature. The stator's magnetic field rotates at 400 Hz, in synch with the AC
generator output. The rotaring magnetic field of the stator interacts with the
armature's magnetic field, thereby imparting torque in the direction of rotation.
The difference in the rotation rate of die stator's magnetic field and rotor speed
determines the amount of current induced into the armature coils and thus the
strength of the rotor's magnetic field. So, m�ximum torque is generated at zero
rpm and torque decreases as rotor speed increases closer to 400 Hz or 2,400 rpm.
Three-phase AC also is used to power avionics and some flight instruments aboard
older jet transports. Most general aviation aircraft fitted with AC electrical
systems, in contrast, use DC power for most avionics and flight instruments.
Many AC electrically powered systems, such as prob� and windshield heaters,
don't need three-phase power �or are they designed to op�rate at 115 volts. This
is another advantage of AC power over DC

48 Business <�r Commercial Aviatim � May 2006

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sentative AC-powered aircraft, including the DC power supplies and basic distri-
but�on system. It looks complex, but it's just a combination of the AC electrical
system illustrated in Figure 2 and the DC electrical distribution system portrayed
in Figure 3. Figure 4 illustrates that complex electrical systems are created from
several basic subsystems and components.
In essence, AC power provides the main brawn for electrically powered equipment
aboard larger aircraft. But it's only available after the APU or a main propulsi�n
engine is running, or when external AC power is plugged into the aircraft. DC
power supplies auxiliary and emergency equipment, including some essential low-
power AC equipment by means of DC to AC static inverters. DC power is available
any time serviceable batteries are installed in the aircraft and when AC power is
available to power AC to DC transformer-rectifier units. Fully recharged batteries
are required for dispatch aboard most aircraft equipped with AC power systems
because they supply emergency DC-powered equipment when all other power sources
fail.
In recent years, jetliner and military aircraft designers have been moving away
Ipower. There's no easy or efficient way to rsduce high-voltage DC to lower
voltages needed for specific equiprnent. AC systems, n ;ontrast, can use simple
step-down trans-r�rmers to reduce voltage locally where it's -eeded. Step-down
transformers reduce jae voltage frorn 115 volts AC to five to 28 volts AC,
depending on the needs of the equiprnent. Most low-voltage AC equipment is
designed for single-phase
I power. The various single-phase loads are distributed evenly between the three
Khases, so that Phase A, B and C each rcovide about the same amount of curreiit to
system components.
But not all equipment aboard aircraft with AC electrical systems runs on AC
power. Plenty of �tems need DC power,
I snch as emergency power supplies, standby Instruments and avionics, and
emergency exit lights. DC power is provided by the iircraft's batteries and
transformer-rectifier units that convert AC to DC power, as illus-trated in Figure
3. Normally, die emergency DC bus is fed by either the left or right 28 YDC bus.
For triple redundancy, the DC buses may be fed by any of three AC to DC
rransformer-rectifier units. If all other DC power sources fail, the battery
ult�mately is available to supply the emergency bus. Additional emergency
batteries may be positioned throughout the aircraft to supply some of the most
critical DC-powered equipment.
DC power may be used to power one or more solid-state DC to AC inverters. These
boxes supply AC power for some emergency or essent�al equipment in the event that
all other AC generation sources fail.
Emergency equipment is not the only use �br DC power. Battery or external DC
power also supplies power for the APU start motor and often a low capacity fuel
boost pump used to feed the APU from the aircraft's fuel tanks. Once the APU is up
and running, it powers a relatively high-capacity three-phase 115/200 volt, 400 Hz
AC generator. With AC power available from the APU, the aircraft's batteries may
be recharged, avionics and flight instruments may be switched on and cabin/galley
equipment may be powered. AC power from the APU also is used to supply the main
fuel boost pumps for main engine start.
Some aircraft with AC electrical systems, such as Gulfstream business jets, may be
�tted with DC external power jacks in addition to their AC external power jacks.
This design feature mainly benefits main-tenance personnel because even the
battery chargers aboard most aircraft with AC el�ctrica! systems are AC powered.
But external DC power may be needed to start the APU if the aircraft batteries are
weak. Figure 4 illustrates the design of a repre-
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from three-phase, 115/200 volt AC power systems in favor of 270 VDC systems.
Fligher voltage means less line loss and still smaller components. Using direct
current eliminates induction losses. However, the DC system architecture means
that virtually all main electrical equipment loads must be capable of using 270
volt power. The Boeing 787, as a result, will retain a three-phase AC electrical
system, but it will op�rate at double the voltage � 230/400 volts. The newest
Boeing jetliner will depend upon AC electrical power for airframe ice protection
heaters, cabin pressurization and other high load equipment formerly powered by
engine bleed air. Eliminating most bleed air drains will boost engine efficiency.
This design breakthrough may pave the way for other all-electric airplanes in the
future.
From all indications, it appears that AC electrical systems will be installed in
a wide variety of current and future production large transport category aircraft
for a long time. Most pilots say that learning the aircraft's electrical system is
one of the most challenging aspects of getting a new type rating. If you
understand the basic principies of AC electrical systems, it's a lot easier to
transition to "heavy iron" jets. B&CA
Business �r Commerdal Aviation � May 2006 49