Method, system and computer program product for the optimization of power system architectures at the aircraft level during pre-design

1. A method of managing a power system architecture at an aircraft level in a pre-design phase, the method comprising:

receiving initialization information;

determining top-level aircraft parameters based on said initialization information;

calculating power requirements based on said top-level aircraft parameters;

iteratively performing, as simulations

pre-sizing of functional modules based on said power requirements and power system configurations, and

determining system performance at an aircraft level based on the pre-sizing;

selecting at least a portion of the power system architecture at the aircraft level based on said system performance; and

displaying simulation results associated with at least the portion of the power system architecture at the aircraft level and the system performance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the initialization information defines aircraft level parameters including aircraft type, mission type, architecture level and module level of interest.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the top-level aircraft parameters determined based on said initialization information include aircraft size, passenger number, noise and emission requirements, aerodynamics, and operational envelope.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the functional modules used in the pre-sizing process are models.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the models are in Matlab.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the simulation results include accuracy, error propagation, and output parameters including fuel consumption and energy flow analysis.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying simulation results is accomplished through a graphical user interface.

8. A system for managing power system architectures at an aircraft level in a pre-design phase, the system comprising:

an input device configured to receive initialization information;

a determining unit configured to determine top-level aircraft parameters based on said initialization information;

a power calculating unit configured to calculate power requirements based on said top-level aircraft parameters;

a simulation unit configured to iteratively perform

pre-sizing of functional modules based on said power requirements and power system configurations, and

determining of system performance at an aircraft level and on a module level based on the pre-sizing;

a selecting unit configured to select at least a portion of the power system architecture at the aircraft level based on said system performance; and

an interface configured to display results associated with at least the portion of the power system architecture at the aircraft level and the system performance.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the input device is configured to receive the initialization information through a graphical user interface.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the graphical user interface is developed in Matlab.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the initialization information received by the input device includes aircraft type, mission type, speed, architecture level and module level of interest.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the module level of interest affects the simulation results calculated and displayed by the interface including accuracy and error propagation.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the simulation unit exchanges parameters with a power platform that includes parameters including environmental conditions.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the simulation unit considers non-physical trade-off criteria including reliability in determining system performance.

15. The system of claim 8 , wherein the interface can be configured to limit the simulation results displayed based on factors including a level of detail desired and a level of detail permitted.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for managing power system architectures at an aircraft level during a pre-design phase, said non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions for execution on a computer enabling the computer to perform steps of:

receiving initialization information;

determining top-level aircraft parameters based on said initialization information;

calculating power requirements based on said top-level aircraft parameters;

iteratively performing, as simulations

pre-sizing of functional modules based on said power requirements and power system configurations, and

determining system performance at an aircraft level based on the pre-sizing;

selecting at least a portion of the power system architecture at the aircraft level based on said system performance; and

displaying simulation results associated with at least the portion of the power system architecture at the aircraft level and the system performance.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the stored instructions are written in Matlab.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the stored instructions are written in a combination of programming languages.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the program may be executed locally by a single processor or remotely by multiple processors over a network connection.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the functional modules are modeled in Matlab.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the functional modules are linked to power system design platforms such that design parameters are updated with parameters from the most recent power system designs.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein displaying simulation results are controlled to limit the simulation results displayed based on a desired level of complexity or access.