Korean Aerospace Industries T-50

Bearing close resemblance to the F-16, the T-50 supersonic trainer was developed by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) in partnership with Lockheed Martin.

Background 

Developed for the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) the T-50 is designed to train pilots of the next generation fighter aircraft including full digital fly-by-wire flight controls and relaxed static stability. The T-50 is the world’s only high performance, supersonic trainer in production today. This advanced jet trainer has attained several technical milestones, including reaching maximum load factors and maximum operating speed, beginning stores separation. 

Challenges 

Modern combat aircraft incorporating relaxed static stability with fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control systems require uninterrupted electric and hydraulic power to maintain controlled flight. This requirement has brought more sophisticated secondary power system designs with better emergency power provisions. Although optional for dual engine aircraft with dual redundant power systems per engine, a fast-responding emergency power system (EPS) is mandatory for single engine, FBW aircraft including the T-50. General requirements for the EPS of today’s fighter aircraft are:

• Fast start up - The EPS typically starts up and provides full power within seconds.
• High capacity - The EPS is capable of operating throughout the full aircraft flight envelope and has sufficient capacity to land in the event of a non-recoverable engine failure.
• High power - The EPS provides sufficient power to cover hydraulic-transient loads associated with bringing the aircraft under control and landing in the event of an engine-out landing.

Solution 

The KAI worked with Eaton and other suppliers in the design of a system that is a self-contained, stored-energy system that simultaneously provides hydraulic and electrical emergency power. Eaton supplies the 33kW Air-Cooled Brushless DC Motorpump and the High Power Air-Cooled Power Electronics Controller for the EPS. The 270VDC High Power Brushless DC Motorpump is a new design for Eaton. The motorpump is designed for 20 mins of operation and the peak power output is 16gpm at 3000psi, which delivers more hydraulic power than the A380 electric motorpump.

Results 

The new emergency power system is a significantly simplified system with improved performance and much lower life cycle cost compared to existing propellant stored energy systems.