FPGA-Based Solid State Power Controller Architecture for Fault-Tolerant Aircraft Power Distribution

The More Electric Aircraft concept has increased the need for rapid fault detection, real time load management and reliable aircraft power distribution systems. This study proposes an aircraft electrical power distribution system based on Solid State Power Controllers (SSPC) and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based central control unit. The FPGA manages rapid fault detection, bus monitoring and real-time load distribution. SSPCs integrate protection and switching functions in a single device to reduce wiring complexity and aircraft mass. According to previous studies SSPCs can respond in microsecond range whereas electromechanical circuit breakers typically operate in the millisecond range. The electrical power distribution system was developed and analyzed in MATLAB/Simulink for a 28 V DC aircraft electrical network in accordance with MIL-STD-704F requirements. The system consists of two power distribution units and each unit includes a main bus rated at 60 A together with a 40A emergency bus. This configuration allows the system to maintain power continuity during normal operation as well as in single-converter and dual-converter failure conditions. When such faults occur power can be transferred through the cross-feed connection while the backup battery continues supplying critical loads. Simulation results show the behavior of the proposed power distribution architecture under different operating conditions and single/dual converter failure scenarios. In these scenarios, it was observed that the system supplies all buses with the cross-feed mechanism, isolates the faulty buses and supplies critical loads using the batteries. Transitions between power sources, isolation of buses during fault conditions and an FPGA-based overcurrent protection mechanism were also observed. Overall, the results show that the proposed architecture can support reliable aircraft power distribution and ensure power continuity under different operational and fault scenarios.