Abstract
Constrained by the low energy density of Lithium-ion batteries with all-electric aircraft propulsion, the hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion drive becomes one of the most promising technologies in aviation electrification, especially for wide-body airplanes. In this paper, a three-port triple active bridge (TAB) DC-DC converter is developed to manage the power flow between the turbo generator, battery, and the propulsion motor. The TAB converter is configured based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET modules operating at high switching frequency, so the size of the phase shifting magnetic transformer can be significantly reduced. Different operation modes of this hybrid-electric propulsion drive based on the SiC TAB converter are modeled and simulated to replicate the takeoff mode, cruising mode, and descendent mode of a typical flight profile. The results show the TAB reaches a peak efficiency of 99.74% at 60% of full load during takeoff and achieves soft-switching operation at full load across operating modes.