A novel design technique for electrical power system of ABT-18 unmanned aerial vehicle
Driven by the absolute demand to optimize unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV) performance, decreased maintenance and operating cost as well as increased reliability, enhanced safety, increased power to weight ratio and reduced gas emissions have underscored the aviation industry renewed push towards embracing the concept of the more electric aircraft(MEA) and consequently the all electric aircrafts(AEA). This paper has presented Design of an Electrical power system of the ABT-18 UAV and different design architectures for the generic UAV power generation, and distribution system with specific interest in the modularity of the avionics sub systems as well as modification of the overall electrical power systems in the Ab-Initio trainer aircraft (ABT-18) to a modular central interface control Panel box (CICP) for easy troubleshooting, circuit analysis and to enhance power to weight ratio with a prime focus on increased efficiency. The operation of a controllable load model was also illustrated using an electromechanical servo simulated with the controllable load model, the load magnitude provided a useful illustration of the capability of the dynamic load model to represent highly transient loading conditions. A simulated load profile in conjunction with the power requirement at various flight phases was also discussed based on the design specification of the proposed UAV with the landing phase chosen as the critical point of design in the selected architecture. A summary of both essential and non-essential loads of the aircraft total electrical power requirement was calculated for each phase and the maximum value taken as the critical design requirement of the ABT-18 UAV Electrical Power.