ORBITAL TRACTION, LTD. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF203-CSO1

Description

The Air Force has a need for increased reliability and electrical power output from aircraft onboard electrical generators. Power consumption is increasing at a geometric rate on modern aircrafts, requiring up to five times more power compared to previous aircrafts. Legacy constant speed drive (CSD) solutions are inefficient and expensive to maintain. There has been significant research in recent years to improve on-board power generation in order to overcome legacy systems issues. Orbital proposes the design and testing of a compact, high efficiency constant power generator (CPG). This design uses an innovative adjustable speed drive in combination with a high-performance generator. The CPG’s increased power density reduces weight, improves power quality, increases reliability and mitigates limitations within current generators. Existing components are at a high TRL, making it a viable solution for rapid deployment. The system’s goals are to increase system efficiency by 20% while reducing system volume by 30-50% and reducing the system weight by 10%. Phase I would validate the end-user power generation requirements, validate the design concept and simulate the energy efficiency improvements. The CPG has both military and commercial applications and the total addressable market is >$720 million annually.