More Electric Aircraft: Review, Challenges, and Opportunities for Commercial Transport Aircraft

TLDR

Research on more electric aircraft (MEA) aims to reduce emissions and fuel consumption by replacing traditional multi‑energy systems with electrical alternatives, but each energy type has drawbacks, and current commercial transport aircraft represent the state‑of‑the‑art electric system. The paper seeks to replace major non‑electric aircraft systems with electrical ones to enhance efficiency, emissions, reliability, and maintenance, and discusses future goals such as NASA’s advances. The discussion includes future capabilities like electric taxi and gas‑electric propulsion.

Abstract

Similar to the efforts to move toward electric vehicles, much research has focused on the idea of a more electric aircraft (MEA). The motivations for this research are similar to that for vehicles and include goals to reduce emissions and decrease fuel consumption. In traditional aircraft, multiple systems may use one type or a combination of types of energy, including electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, and pneumatic energy. However, all energy types have different drawbacks, including the sacrifice of total engine efficiency in the process of harvesting a particular energy, as with hydraulic and pneumatic systems. The goal for future aircraft is to replace most of the major systems currently utilizing nonelectric power, such as environmental controls and engine start, with new electrical systems to improve a variety of aircraft characteristics, such as efficiency, emissions, reliability, and maintenance costs. This paper provides an in-depth look into how the systems have-or will be-changed. Future aircraft capabilities such as electric taxi and gas-electric propulsion for aircraft are also included for discussion. Most recent commercial transport aircrafts are described as the current state-of-the-art electric aircraft system. Future goals, including those of NASA, are presented for future advances in MEA.