University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

An 8-level flying capacitor multilevel converter for aircraft pulse deicing

Stokowski, Nicole Mei Lan

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127170

Description

Title
An 8-level flying capacitor multilevel converter for aircraft pulse deicing
Author(s)
Stokowski, Nicole Mei Lan
Issue Date
2024-11-07
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Stillwell, Andrew R
Department of Study
Electrical & Computer Eng
Discipline
Electrical & Computer Engr
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • flying capacitor multilevel converter
  • pulse deicing
  • GaN
Abstract
Commercial and small personal aircraft use a variety of methods to remove and/or prevent ice buildup on plane wings. Recent research into pulsed deicing techniques on small passenger aircraft has gained traction, which calls for controlled power systems that can provide the necessary energy to remove accumulated ice. This work looks at the design of a 3 kW, 8-level flying capacitor multilevel (FCML) buck converter, with over 99% efficiency, that can be used as a controlled energy buffer between the aircraft battery and the deicing mechanism. The prototype developed in this work lends itself to an extremely lightweight design (15 kW/kg), with no heat-sink due to good thermal performance. Additional work is done to prove the reliability of the prototype through environmental testing and future plans to integrate the converter into a comprehensive deicing system will be discussed.
Graduation Semester
2024-12
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127170
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 Nicole Stokowski

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