Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.0
2.2
Journals
Aerospace
Special Issues
Aircraft Electric Power System II: Motor Drive Design and Control
share announcement

Aircraft Electric Power System II: Motor Drive Design and Control

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1517

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yuan Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Interests: model predictive control; power electronics; motor drive control; machine learning; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhen Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Information Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: high-speed machine drives; multilevel converters; onboard electrical power system protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hengliang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Electrical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: permanent magnet synchronous motor; permanent magnet machines; electrical machine; electrical drives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhan Li

E-Mail
Guest Editor
College of Electrical and Information Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410012, China
Interests: fault diagnosis, power electronics; reliability; multi-level converters; grid-tied inverter
Prof. Dr. Pat Wheeler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: power electronics; matrix converters; multi-level converters/multi-cellular converters; more electric aircraft
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aviation industry is undergoing a transformative shift toward more electric, all-electric, and deeply electrified architectures, with electric machine drive and control technologies serving as core enablers of sustainable flight. Modern electric propulsion systems—characterized by high efficiency, precise controllability, and robust reliability—are emerging as critical solutions for next-generation aircraft. Despite this progress, significant challenges remain, including the high-temperature demagnetization of permanent magnets, harmonic-induced losses, low power factor operation, and the integration complexities associated with superconducting systems.

To address these challenges, advanced drive technologies are increasingly incorporating wide-bandgap semiconductor devices and multilevel converter topologies to enable high-efficiency power conversion. Fault-tolerant design strategies, along with prognostics and health management (PHM) systems, enhance operational reliability and resilience. Deep learning-augmented model predictive control further optimizes dynamic response performance. Meanwhile, motor driver co-integration and advanced thermal management techniques contribute to reduced system weight and improved heat dissipation.

This Special Issue presents the latest breakthroughs in electric drive technologies for aerospace electrification. Topics include high-power-density electric machine design, novel power electronics topologies, intelligent control algorithms, and holistic system integration methodologies. The collection aims to foster innovation in low-emission, high-reliability propulsion systems and to accelerate the aviation sector’s transition toward a net-zero carbon future.

Dr. Yuan Gao
Dr. Zhen Huang
Dr. Hengliang Zhang
Dr. Zhan Li
Prof. Dr. Pat Wheeler
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aircraft electrification
  • electric propulsion systems
  • electrical machine
  • motor drive
  • wide-bandgap semiconductors
  • high-power-density machines
  • fault-tolerant design
  • artificial intelligence
  • intelligent motor control
  • drive system integration

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

25 pages, 5882 KB  
Article
Transient Modeling and Analysis of Short-Circuit Faults in the DC Power System for Hybrid Electric Aircraft
by Bin Liu, Shuguang Wei, Jiaqi Li, Kewei Chen, Feifan Xu and Hengliang Zhang
Aerospace 2026, 13(3), 261; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace13030261 - 11 Mar 2026
Viewed by 226
Abstract
Transient modeling of short-circuit faults in the DC power system of hybrid electric aircraft (HEA) serves as a fundamental basis for effective fault identification, localization, and isolation. Before faults are detected and protective measures are taken, distributed sources and loads maintain their normal [...] Read more.
Transient modeling of short-circuit faults in the DC power system of hybrid electric aircraft (HEA) serves as a fundamental basis for effective fault identification, localization, and isolation. Before faults are detected and protective measures are taken, distributed sources and loads maintain their normal control strategies. However, previous studies frequently overlook the impact of these control dynamics on the transient behavior of DC power systems, leading to reduced accuracy in fault transient models. Therefore, this paper proposes a fault transient modeling method for the DC power system of HEA considering the control effects of distributed sources and loads. Firstly, the transient characteristics of all components in the system are analyzed, including generators and fan motors, batteries and DC load, and supercapacitors. Subsequently, a comprehensive fault transient model of the HEA DC power system is established. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is verified through comparison with results from a semi-physical test platform. The results demonstrate that the proposed modeling approach enhances the accuracy of transient analysis for the faulty HEA DC power systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aircraft Electric Power System II: Motor Drive Design and Control)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 7058 KB  
Article
Demagnetization Fault Diagnosis Based on Coupled Multi-Physics Characteristics of Aviation Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
by Zhangang Yang, Xiaozhong Zhang and Yanan Zhang
Aerospace 2026, 13(1), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace13010039 - 30 Dec 2025
Viewed by 525
Abstract
Aviation permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) operate with high power density under high-altitude conditions, where the thermal sensitivity of permanent magnet materials and reduced air density make them prone to demagnetization faults. Even small performance degradation can therefore pose a risk to operational [...] Read more.
Aviation permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) operate with high power density under high-altitude conditions, where the thermal sensitivity of permanent magnet materials and reduced air density make them prone to demagnetization faults. Even small performance degradation can therefore pose a risk to operational safety, and reliable demagnetization diagnosis is required. This paper analyzes the operating characteristics of an aviation interior PMSM under demagnetization faults and develops a dedicated diagnostic approach. A coupled electromagnetic–thermal finite element model is established to evaluate no-load and rated performance, compute losses under rated conditions, and obtain temperature distributions; the electromagnetic model is further corroborated using an RT-LAB semi-physical real-time simulation of the motor body. Altitude-dependent ambient air properties corresponding to 5000 m are then incorporated to assess the magneto–thermal field distribution and reveal the impact of high-altitude operation on temperature rise and demagnetization risk. Based on the thermal analysis, overall demagnetization faults are classified into several temperature-based levels, and representative local demagnetization cases are constructed; for each fault case, time-domain torque and phase-voltage signals and their frequency-domain components are extracted to form a fault dataset. Building on these features, an intelligent diagnostic method integrating a deep belief network (DBN) and an extreme learning machine (ELM) optimized by an enhanced fireworks algorithm (EnFWA) is proposed. Comparative results show that the proposed DBN–ELM–EnFWA framework achieves a favorable trade-off between diagnostic accuracy and training time compared with several benchmark deep learning models, providing a practical and effective tool for demagnetization fault diagnosis in aviation interior PMSMs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aircraft Electric Power System II: Motor Drive Design and Control)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop