US-12617298-B2 - Power district architecture for a vehicle

Abstract

In accordance with at least one aspect of this disclosure, a power system for a vehicle is disclosed. The system can include, one or more power distribution sources configured to supply electrical power to one or more power districts. One or more power conversion devices can be housed within a respective power district. In embodiments, the power district can be configured to allow for managing a draw by a respective one or more loads within the respective power district. The one or more power conversion devices can be configured to receive electrical power from one or more of the one or more power distribution sources, convert the electrical power to a secondary form, and then the converted electrical power to the one or more loads within the respective power district. In embodiments, a logic module can be operatively connected to the one or more power districts, configured to control at least a load draw.

Inventors

• Mustansir H. Kheraluwala
• Andrew D. Bellis
• Michael J. Krenz
• Joshua C. Swenson
• Kyle Stephen Ives

Assignees

• HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20220815

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A power system for a vehicle comprising: one or more power distribution sources configured to supply electrical power to one or more power districts; one or more power conversion devices each housed within a respective one of the one or more power districts and configured to receive electrical power from at least one of the one or more power distribution sources, convert the electrical power to a secondary form, and supply the converted electrical power to one or more loads within the respective power district; and a logic module operatively connected to the one or more power districts and including machine readable instructions configured to: determine a system condition of the power system; prioritize each of the one or more loads; prioritize respective load draw based on the determined system condition, a mission profile phase, and/or a budgeted designated current for each of the respective one or more loads; and control power delivery from each of the one or more power districts to the respective one or more loads based at least in part on the priority of each of the respective one or more loads; wherein the one or more power districts include at least a first power district and at least a second power district electrically coupled via a bus tie; wherein the determined system condition includes a power failure in the first power district; and wherein, during the power failure, the logic module is configured to control the bus tie to serve as a cross tie such that the second power district is configured to supply power to the first power district.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more power conversion devices includes a DC/DC converter configured to receive high voltage DC power, convert the high voltage DC power to low voltage DC power, and supply the low voltage DC power to one or more of the one or more loads, and wherein the secondary form includes a lower voltage DC power than received by the at least one of the one or more power conversion devices.
3. 3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more loads includes a solid state power controller module, a lighting system, a lavatory, an infotainment system, a galley, a communications module, and/or a seating system.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more power conversion devices includes an environmental control system drive configured to receive high voltage DC power, convert the high voltage DC power to an AC wave form, and supply the AC wave form to one or more of the one or more loads, wherein the secondary form includes the AC wave form.
5. 5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein at least one load of the one or more loads includes a compressor motor drive for an environmental control system.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more power conversion devices includes a traction system drive configured to receive high voltage DC power, convert the high voltage DC power to an AC wave form, and supply the AC wave form to one or more of the one or more loads, wherein the secondary form includes the AC wave form.
7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein at least one load of the one or more loads includes an electric motor drive for a traction control system.
8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more batteries operatively connected to a respective power district via a second bus tie and configured to supply electrical power to the respective one or more loads and to store electrical power supplied by the respective power district.
9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the logic module is further configured to output power district data to a main vehicle controller.
10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the power district data includes one or more of: a status and health of the one or more power conversion devices, a status and health of the one or more loads, a power status of the one or more loads, and/or a solid state power controller status for one or more connected loads, wherein the logic module is configured to provide the power district data to the main vehicle controller via a digital data bus.
11. 11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle includes an evacuated tube vehicle.
12. 12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the evacuated tube vehicle includes an evacuated tube electric train.
13. 13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each power conversion device is sized to provide less than peak power to the respective one or more loads.
14. 14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more power conversion devices include one or more DC/DC power converters having a combined total output sized to provide sufficient power to a first load type based on a mission profile load draw priority scheme for the first load type.
15. 15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the one or more power conversion devices include one or more compressor motor drives having a combined total output sized to provide sufficient power to a second load type based on a mission profile load draw priority scheme for the second load type.
16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more power conversion devices include one or more traction drives having a combined total output sized to provide sufficient power to a third load type based on a mission profile load draw priority scheme for the third load type.
17. 17 . A power system for a vehicle comprising: one or more power distribution sources configured to supply electrical power to one or more power districts; one or more power conversion devices each housed within a respective one of the one or more power districts and configured to receive electrical power from at least one of the one or more power distribution sources, convert the electrical power to a secondary form, and supply the converted electrical power to one or more loads within the respective power district; and a logic module operatively connected to the one or more power districts and including machine readable instructions configured to: determine a system condition of the power system; prioritize each of the one or more loads; and control power delivery from each of the one or more power districts to the respective one or more loads based at least in part on the priority of each of the respective one or more loads; wherein each power conversion device is sized to provide less than peak power to the respective one or more loads; wherein the one or more power conversion devices include one or more DC/DC power converters having a combined total output sized to provide sufficient power to a first load type based on a mission profile load draw priority scheme for the first load type; wherein the one or more power conversion devices include one or more compressor motor drives having a combined total output sized to provide sufficient power to a second load type based on a mission profile load draw priority scheme for the second load type; wherein the one or more power conversion devices include one or more traction drives having a combined total output sized to provide sufficient power to a third load type based on a mission profile load draw priority scheme for the third load type; wherein the first load type includes a lighting system, a lavatory, an infotainment system, and/or a seating system; wherein the second load type includes an environmental control system; and wherein the third load type includes a traction control system.
18. 18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the one or more power districts include at least a first power district and at least a second power district electrically coupled via a bus tie.
19. 19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein: the determined system condition includes a power failure in the first power district; and during the power failure, the logic module is configured to control the bus tie to serve as a cross tie such that the second power district is configured to supply power to the first power district.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to power district architecture, and more particularly to power district architectures for vehicles. BACKGROUND Managing which sources of power feed various loads in a micro-grid environment, such as an aircraft or an encapsulated railway, can often become very complex. For example, some loads may have varying criticality depending upon phase of operation, some loads may require different types and levels of power, some loads may favor certain power sourcing for fault segregation, while others may require dual or triple simultaneous sourcing. Typically, systems may utilize software to monitor the power system and control the linkage between power sources and loads, however in some cases, this can be highly complex, hard to maintain, and very expensive to certify. In certain instances, only a single power converter is used for a given district, which requires precise prioritization of power distribution. Furthermore, incorporating additional power structures within the power distribution architecture, such as motor drives in rail applications, requires additional considerations when designing a power district. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for improvements to power distribution architecture in rail applications. This disclosure provides a solution for this need. SUMMARY In accordance with at least one aspect of this disclosure, a power system for a vehicle includes one or more power distribution sources configured to supply electrical power to one or more power districts. One or more power conversion devices can be housed within a respective one or more power district. The power districts are configured to receive electrical power from one or more of the one or more power distribution sources, convert the electrical power to a secondary form, and supply the converted electrical power to one or more loads within the respective power district. A logic module is operatively connected to the one or more power districts and including machine readable instructions and can be configured to determine a system condition of the power system, prioritize each of the one or more loads, and control power delivery from each of the one or more power districts to the respective one or more loads based at least in part on the priority of the load. In embodiments, the logic module can be configured to prioritize respective load draw based on the determined system condition, a mission profile phase, and/or a budgeted designated current for each of the respective one or more loads. In embodiments, the one or more power districts can include at least a first power district and at least a second power district electrically coupled via a bus tie. In certain embodiments, the determined system condition can include a power failure in the first power district, wherein during the power failure, the logic module is configured to control the bus tie to serve as a cross tie such that the second power district is configured to supply power to the first power district during the power failure. In embodiments at least one of the one or more power conversion devices can include a DC/DC converter, configured to receive high voltage DC power, convert the high voltage DC power to low voltage DC power, and supply the low voltage DC power to one or more of the one or more loads, wherein the secondary form includes a lower voltage DC power than received by the at least one of the one or more power conversion devices. In such embodiments, the at least one of the one or more loads can include, a solid state power controller module, a lighting system, a lavatory, an infotainment system, and/or a seating system. In certain embodiments, at least one of the one or more power conversion devices can include an environmental control system drive, configured to receive high voltage DC power, convert the high voltage DC power to an AC wave form, and supply the wave form to one or more of the one or more loads, wherein the secondary form includes the wave form. In such embodiments, at least one load of the one or more loads can include a compressor motor drive for an environmental control system. In certain embodiments, at least one of the one or more power conversion devices can include a traction system drive, configured to receive high voltage DC power, convert the high voltage DC power to an AC wave form, and supply the wave form to one or more of the one or more loads, wherein the secondary form includes the wave form. In such embodiments, at least one load of the one or more loads can include an electric motor drive for a traction control system. In embodiments, the system can include one or more batteries operatively connected to a respective power district via a bus tie configured to supply electrical power to one or more loads and configured to store electrical power supplied by the respective power district. In certain embodiments, the controller can be further configured to output power dist