Patent Description:
The delivery of electric power in an aircraft can be difficult, particularly where the power must be delivered between components which are liable to move relative to each other during flight of the aircraft. <CIT> teaches an aircraft including a jet engine and a telescopic tube assembly positioned on the jet engine. The telescopic tube assembly includes one end portion of the telescopic tube assembly which is associated with a thrust reverser translating sleeve of the jet engine and an opposing end portion of the telescopic tube assembly which is associated with a fixed portion of the of the jet engine. <CIT> deals with an aircraft hybrid propulsion system comprising electric motors.

A first aspect of the invention provides an aircraft propulsion system comprising: a propulsion motor; wiring configured to carry electrical power for the propulsion motor; wherein the propulsion system further comprises an electromagnetic shielding arrangement which provides an enclosure around the wiring and is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the wiring, the electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprising: a first shield; a second shield which can move relative to the first shield; and a gap between the first shield and the second shield, wherein the gap is configured to enable air to flow into or out of the enclosure via the gap, wherein the gap is configured to enable air to flow into the enclosure via the gap and into contact with the wiring, thereby cooling the wiring.

A second aspect of the invention provides an aircraft comprising an aircraft propulsion system as per claim <NUM>.

Optionally the aircraft further comprises a wing; an engine structure including the propulsion motor; and a pylon connecting the engine structure to the wing, wherein the first shield is connected to the pylon and the second shield is connected to the engine structure.

Optionally the aircraft further comprises a rectifier and a generator, wherein the wiring connects the rectifier to the generator, one of the shields is connected to the rectifier, and the other shield is connected to the generator.

Optionally the wiring is configured to generate electromagnetic emissions at a signal wavelength; and the gap has a dimension which is less than the signal wavelength, thereby inhibiting transmission of the electromagnetic emissions through the gap.

Optionally the gap has a dimension which is less than the signal wavelength at all points.

Optionally the gap has a dimension which is greater than <NUM>.

Optionally the gap comprises a channel with parallel walls.

Optionally the wiring comprises first wiring configured to carry electrical power at a first phase; second wiring configured to carry electrical power at a second phase; and third wiring configured to carry electrical power at a third phase.

Optionally the first, second and third wiring are surrounded by common harness shielding outside the enclosure; and the common harness shielding is terminated so that the common harness shielding does not extend inside the enclosure.

Optionally the wiring is configured to carry electrical power at a first phase; and the aircraft propulsion system further comprises: second wiring configured to carry electrical power at a second phase; and a second electromagnetic shielding arrangement which provides a second enclosure around the second wiring and is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the second wiring, the second electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprising: a third shield; a fourth shield which can move relative to the third shield; and a second gap between the third shield and the fourth shield, wherein the second gap is configured to enable air to flow into or out of the second enclosure via the second gap, thereby cooling the second wiring.

Optionally the wiring is configured to carry electrical power at a power level higher than <NUM> kW, or at a power level higher than 1MW.

Optionally the gap is configured to enable air to flow out of the enclosure via the gap.

An aircraft <NUM> shown in <FIG> comprises a fuselage <NUM> and a pair of wings <NUM>. Each wing <NUM> carries a respective engine structure <NUM> on a pylon <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic view showing the interface between the engine structure <NUM> and the wing <NUM>. The pylon <NUM> has a pylon top spar <NUM> and a pylon bottom spar <NUM>. The pylon bottom spar <NUM> is attached to the engine structure <NUM> by a front link <NUM> and a rear link <NUM>.

The engine structure <NUM> comprises a propulsion motor <NUM> which is configured to drive a propulsor (not shown) such as a fan, which generates thrust to propel the aircraft.

Very high levels of electrical power must be delivered to the propulsion motor <NUM> by wiring <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. In some embodiments the wiring <NUM> is configured to carry electrical power at a power level higher than 100kW, or at a power level higher than 1MW. For example the wiring <NUM> may be configured to carry electrical power at a power level of 2MW or much higher - potentially as high as 20MW.

The wiring <NUM> comprises first wiring 15a configured to carry electrical power at a first phase to a first motor terminal 14a; second wiring 15b configured to carry electrical power at a second phase to a second motor terminal 14b; and third wiring 15c configured to carry electrical power at a third phase to a third motor terminal 14c. For ease of illustration, <FIG> shows only the first and second wiring 15a, 15b, whereas <FIG> shows all three phases 15a-c of the wiring <NUM>.

For three-phase AC communication, it is best for electromagnetic interference (EMI) purposes to put three wires of different phase together under common harness shielding as the phase difference of each wire cancels out the overall emission. This is called a trefoil configuration.

The first, second and third wiring 15a-c may be arranged in a trefoil configuration, surrounded by common harness shielding <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

The trefoil configuration works well for the majority of routing through the aircraft, but it can create a routing problem when it becomes necessary to connect the wiring to equipment at either end. Also, to transmit high currents it may be necessary to have more than one wire per phase (for instance three wires per phase).

An example of this routing problem is shown in <FIG>. <FIG> and <FIG> show an embodiment with only a single wire 15a-c per phase. <FIG> shows an embodiment in which the wires 15a-c are connected to motor terminals 14a-c, along with two further sets of wiring. It is necessary to terminate the common harness shielding <NUM> and connect each wire to the correct terminal 14a-c as shown in <FIG>.

With the very large diameter wires required for high power current transmission, the connection arrangement of <FIG> takes up a lot of distance and space. The lack of common harness shielding around the wiring, and the effect of not having the wires in a trefoil configuration, leads to an area <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) between the pylon <NUM> and the engine structure <NUM> with very high EMI emissions which can interfere with aircraft communications and other wiring.

A conventional solution to resolve this from an EMI perspective would be to contain the wiring <NUM> inside a conductive box. However, a closed metallic box can create a thermal problem as the wiring <NUM> generates a lot of heat.

Also the shape of the pylon <NUM> is critical to drag, and the engine structure <NUM> has many systems to install in a small volume. This makes it challenging to route the wiring <NUM> to the propulsion motor <NUM>.

In this example the common harness shielding <NUM> is terminated at the pylon top spar <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, and the individual wires 15a-c run through the pylon <NUM> so they are in the right location when they reach the engine structure <NUM>. As mentioned above, this creates the risk of high electromagnetic emissions in the area <NUM> between the pylon <NUM> and the engine structure <NUM>.

An added complication is that the wiring <NUM> is behind the front link <NUM> and the rear link <NUM>. This means the engine structure <NUM> will be vibrating and moving relative to the pylon <NUM> at that point.

To solve these problems, an electromagnetic shielding arrangement <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> is provided. The electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises a first shield <NUM> connected to the pylon <NUM>, and a second shield <NUM> connected to the engine structure <NUM>.

The electromagnetic shielding arrangement <NUM>, <NUM> provides an enclosure around the wiring <NUM> which is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the wiring <NUM>.

In the case of <FIG>, only three wires 15a-c are shown inside the electromagnetic shielding arrangement <NUM>, <NUM>, but in the case of <FIG> all nine wires may be enclosed by the electromagnetic shielding arrangement <NUM>, <NUM>.

The shields <NUM>, <NUM> are also positioned to be contacted by external airflow when the aircraft is in flight, so they are shaped to act as low drag aerodynamic fairings.

In this example the first shield <NUM> is inside the second shield <NUM>, although in other embodiments the reverse may be true.

The shields <NUM>, <NUM> may be metallic, for instance Aluminium.

A gap <NUM> shown in <FIG> is provided between overlapping portions of the first shield <NUM> and the second shield <NUM>. The gap <NUM> is configured to enable cold air <NUM> (shown in <FIG> and <FIG>) to flow into the enclosure via the gap <NUM> and into contact with the wiring <NUM>, thereby cooling the wiring <NUM>. The cold air <NUM> may be at a temperature as low as -<NUM>. The gap <NUM> is also configured to enable hot air <NUM> to flow out of the enclosure via the gap <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. The hot air may be at a temperature as high as <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the gap <NUM> may comprise a channel with parallel planar walls.

The wiring <NUM> is flexible, and the gap <NUM> enables the second shield <NUM> to move relative to the first shield <NUM>, which solves the problem of dealing with the vibration of the engine structure <NUM> relative to the pylon <NUM>.

The gap <NUM> not only allows the two shields to move easily relative to each other, but also provides a small channel or waveguide for electromagnetic radiation.

The wiring <NUM> is configured to generate electromagnetic emissions at a signal wavelength. By way of example, the frequency of the electromagnetic emissions may be kHz to ~ <NUM> or <NUM>, so the shortest signal wavelengths will be a little shorter than <NUM>.

The gap <NUM> may have a dimension <NUM> which is less than the signal wavelength, thereby inhibiting transmission of the electromagnetic emissions through the gap <NUM>. Optionally the gap <NUM> has a dimension which is less than the signal wavelength at all points where the shields <NUM>, <NUM> overlap.

The aircraft <NUM> may contain a communication network which is sensitive to electromagnetic emissions at much lower wavelengths, and the dimension <NUM> of the gap <NUM> may also be made sufficiently small to inhibiting transmission of electromagnetic emissions through the gap <NUM> at such lower wavelengths, in order to protect the communication network.

To enable sufficient flow of air, the gap <NUM> may have a dimension <NUM> which is greater than <NUM>, optionally at all points where the shields <NUM>, <NUM> overlap.

The dimension <NUM> of the gap may vary in flight due to relative movement between the shields <NUM>, <NUM>. In this case, the dimension <NUM> of the gap will vary over time between a minimum and a maximum. The minimum dimension may be greater than <NUM>, so the gap <NUM> is sufficiently wide under all conditions.

At the leading edge of the enclosure, the gap <NUM> may be open to enable cold air to flow directly into the enclosure during flight. This maximizes ventilation of the enclosure but may create high drag. A lower drag alternative is to close off the leading edge of the gap <NUM> with a flexible seal between the shields, but this will result in a lower rate of flow into the enclosure.

The dimension <NUM> of the gap will have an impact on drag - a higher dimension <NUM> resulting in a higher drag. Typically the dimension <NUM> of the gap is of the order of <NUM>, although it may be higher if required. Optionally the dimension <NUM> of the gap is less than <NUM> or less than <NUM>.

In the embodiment of <FIG> the first shield <NUM> is a component which is attached to the pylon <NUM> and extends away from the pylon across the area <NUM> between the pylon <NUM> and the engine structure <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the second shield <NUM> may fit inside a slot in the pylon <NUM>. In this case the electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises a first shield (formed by a wall of the slot in the pylon <NUM>); a second shield <NUM> which crosses the area <NUM> and fits inside the slot in the pylon <NUM>; and a gap between overlapping portions of the shields.

In another alternative embodiment of the invention, the second shield <NUM> may fit inside a slot in the engine structure <NUM>. In this case the electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises a first shield which crosses the area <NUM> and fits inside the slot in the engine structure <NUM>; a second shield (formed by a wall of the slot in the engine structure <NUM>); and a gap between overlapping portions of the shields.

With these alternative embodiments it may be more difficult for air to flow into the enclosure via the gap, but the flow of air out of the enclosure via the gap will still be possible.

<FIG> shows a further embodiment of the present invention. The aircraft propulsion system of the aircraft <NUM> comprises a rectifier <NUM> and a generator <NUM>, positioned close to each other in the fuselage <NUM>.

Wiring <NUM> shown in <FIG> connects the rectifier <NUM> to the generator <NUM>. Like the wiring <NUM> between the pylon <NUM> and engine structure <NUM>, the wiring <NUM> is also configured to carry high levels of electrical power which is ultimately delivered to the motor. In this case the electrical power is generated by the generator <NUM>, then carried to the propulsion motor <NUM> by the wiring <NUM> via the rectifier <NUM> and potentially other electrical components of the aircraft propulsion system.

The wiring <NUM> comprises three sets of wiring: first wiring 32a configured to carry electrical power at a first phase; second wiring 32b configured to carry electrical power at a second phase; and third wiring 32c configured to carry electrical power at a third phase. In this example each set of wiring comprises three wires.

The rectifier <NUM> and generator <NUM> are attached to different supports, so they can move relative to each other. To accommodate this relative movement, the wiring <NUM> is flexible.

As the rectifier <NUM> and generator <NUM> are very close to each other, it is not possible to bundle the wiring as three-phase cables in a trefoil configuration, so the wires are routed individually as shown in <FIG>.

This creates an EMI problem, with wires of the same phase grouped together. The solution to this problem is to provide separate electromagnetic shielding arrangements for each set of wiring.

A first electromagnetic shielding arrangement provides a first enclosure around the first wiring 32a and is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the first wiring 32a. The first electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises: a first shield 40a; a second shield 41a which can move relative to the first shield 40a; and a first gap 42a between overlapping portions of the first shield 40a and the second shield 41a. The first gap 42a is configured to enable air to flow into and out of the first enclosure via the first gap.

A second electromagnetic shielding arrangement provides a second enclosure around the second wiring 32b, similar to the first enclosure 40a, 41a. The second enclosure is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the second wiring 32b. The second electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises: a third shield 40b; a fourth shield 41b which can move relative to the third shield 40b; and a second gap 42b between the third shield 40b and the fourth shield 41c. The second gap 42b is configured to enable air to flow into and out of the second enclosure via the second gap.

A third electromagnetic shielding arrangement provides a third enclosure around the third wiring 32c and is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the third wiring 32c. The third electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises: a fifth shield 40c; a sixth shield 41c which can move relative to the fifth shield 40c; and a third gap 42c between overlapping portions of the fifth shield 40c and the sixth shield 41c. The third gap is configured to enable air to flow into and out of the third enclosure via the gap.

The gaps 42a-c each provide a ventilation effect similar to the ventilation effect of the gap <NUM> in the first embodiment, preventing overheating of the wiring <NUM>.

Each of the shields 40a-c is connected to the generator <NUM> and each of the shields 41a-c is connected to the rectifier <NUM>.

In this example the shields 40a-c are inside the shields 41a-c, although in other embodiments the reverse may be true.

The shields 40a-c and <NUM>-c may be cylindrical, with parallel walls.

The shields 40a-c and 41a-c may be metallic, for instance Aluminium.

Each gap 42a-c has a dimension which is less than the signal wavelength, thereby inhibiting transmission of the electromagnetic emissions through the gap. Preferably each gap 42a-c has a dimension which is less than the signal wavelength at all points where the shields 40a-c and 41a-c overlap.

To enable sufficient flow of air, each gap 42a-c may have a dimension which is greater than <NUM>, optionally at all points where the shields 40a-c and 41a-c overlap.

The electromagnetic shielding arrangements of <FIG> are not on the exterior of the aircraft, and hence they have no impact on the drag performance of the aircraft. This enables the dimensions of the gaps 42a-c to be higher than in the embodiment of <FIG>.

In the embodiment of <FIG> each shield 40a-c is a component which is attached to the generator <NUM> and extends away from the body of the generator <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, each shield 41a-c may fit inside a respective slot in the generator <NUM>. In this case each electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises a first shield (formed by a wall of the slot in the generator <NUM>); a second shield which fits inside the slot in the generator <NUM>; and a gap between overlapping portions of the shields.

In another alternative embodiment of the invention, each shield 40a-c may fit inside a respective slot in the rectifier <NUM>. In this case the electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprises a first shield which fits inside the slot in the rectifier <NUM>; a second shield (formed by a wall of the slot in the rectifier <NUM>); and a gap between overlapping portions of the shields.

Claim 1:
An aircraft propulsion system comprising: a propulsion motor (<NUM>); wiring (<NUM>) configured to carry electrical power for the propulsion motor; and characterised in that the propulsion system further comprises an electromagnetic shielding arrangement which provides an enclosure around the wiring and is configured to block electromagnetic emissions from the wiring, the electromagnetic shielding arrangement comprising:
a first shield (<NUM>); a second shield (<NUM>) which can move relative to the first shield;
and a gap (<NUM>) between the first shield (<NUM>) and the second shield (<NUM>), wherein the gap (<NUM>) is configured to enable air (<NUM>) to flow into or out of the enclosure via the gap (<NUM>), wherein the gap (<NUM>) is configured to enable air to flow into the enclosure via the gap and into contact with the wiring, thereby cooling the wiring.