Development of Superconducting Distribution Network for IZEA Aircraft

High temperature superconducting (HTS) power cables provide a high power dense and power capacity solution for the cable network for future all electric aircraft. As part of our continued research on developing a zero emission electric aircraft we are investigating the cable topology and electrical constraints of HTS power cables for a 18 MW, 100 passenger aircraft. The aircraft we are developing as part of NASA’s IZEA University Leadership Initiative is a blended wing body design which utilizes hydrogen as both a coolant for the power devices within the power system as well as a fuel source for the HTS generators. The notional power system consists of two 9 MW HTS generators, and eight 2.5 MW motors which are coupled together via a medium voltage DC HTS power cable network. The paper discusses the system, and device challenges and opportunities which HTS cables have when developing the distribution network for the IZEA aircraft. A notional power system distribution architecture and HTS cable design are presented.