Novel Power Transmission Solutions for Megawatt Scale Electric Aircraft

NASA’s goal for sustained and green aviation has inspired the development of novel power transmission materials for extreme environments. As an increasing number of public and private entities set their sights towards electrified flight in transportation including space flight, the demand for power will continue increase to megawatt levels. High voltage (≥ 300 V) is utilized to reduce electrical wiring conductor weight. The resulting consequences of high voltage are vulnerabilities to partial discharge from high electric fields. Although transmission lines to propulsors are more easily addressed through gas insulation system or thicker insulation, these power transmission lines are relatively short, approximately a 100 ft in length. The distributed power to other electrical systems is more difficult to manage with thicker insulation. The need for novel lightweight electrical insulation and conductors’ solutions becomes obvious when considering that high altitude aircraft and spacecraft can have 100’s of miles of wiring. In this talk, extreme environments are discussed as well as advances in novel electrical insulation materials and composite conductors at NASA Glenn Research Center, providing a path to achieving high power high altitude all electric aircraft and space systems.