CorePower smart electrical power-distribution systems

The Smart PDUs is a PMU module from Astronics with aerospace-grade and dual-use specifications. Astronics CorePower smart electrical power-distribution systems are PMU modules for aircraft: power-management and distribution units that switch and protect electrical loads with solid-state devices and electronic circuit breakers, built and sold by Astronics. The product is a distribution architecture rather than a single box, and it addresses aircraft whose power networks would otherwise rely on a collection of thermal-mechanical breakers, relays and contactors.

The central function is to replace those electromechanical parts with intelligently controlled solid-state switches. Electronic Circuit Breaker Units, abbreviated ECBUs, perform the switching and the overcurrent protection of each load. Because the switching is electronic, the same unit can also take part in automation, so loads are controlled by the system instead of by individual panel switches. The maker describes the result as fewer panels and a lower crew workload.

Several figures are given for the system compared with traditional breaker arrangements: up to 20 times higher system reliability for electronic circuit breakers versus traditional ones, a 30% reduction in overall wire weight, 60% less wasted power and a 40% decrease in life cycle cost, the last attributed to reduced installation and maintenance. For an integrator, the wire-weight figure follows from the ECBUs being smaller and lighter than conventional counterparts and from their placement: they can be located throughout the airframe close to the loads they serve, which shortens feeder runs and gives a more evenly distributed system.

On the protection side, the systems provide solid-state switching, electronic circuit breaking and parallel arc-fault protection. The distributed layout also assists arc-fault detection. Two ECBU variants, a basic and an enhanced unit, are offered, each with its own datasheet on the maker's site; electrical ratings, channel counts and communication interfaces should be taken from those datasheets when sizing an installation.

Astronics positions the CorePower family for corporate jets, unmanned aircraft and advanced helicopter programs. In the context of large professional drones and eVTOL aircraft, the relevant uses are load management, circuit protection and distribution of power from generators or batteries to avionics, actuators and payloads, where saving wire mass and removing maintenance-prone electromechanical parts both matter. The maker cites a history of high reliability for the line, and the system suits custom, configurable installations in which the number and position of switching units are chosen per airframe.