B767 POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

AC POWER DISTRIBUTION
AC Main Busses
Right IDG normally powers the right main bus and left IDG normally powers left main
bus. The APU normally powers both main busses when they are not powered by any other
source. External power may also be connected and will also power both main busses. Bus tie
breaker, controlled by BUS TIE switches, isolate or parallel the right and left main busses. When
both BUS TIE switches are set to AUTO, the bus tie system operates automatically to maintain
power to both main busses.
The AC bus ISLN light illuminates and the EICAS advisory message L or R BUS
ISOLATED displays when the bus tie breaker is open because of a fault or the BUS TIE switch is
OFF. The source order for powering left and right main busses are :

Respective IDG
APU Generator
Opposite IDG

Utility Bus
Left and right utility busses, powered by their respective main AC bus, are controlled by
UTILITY BUS switches. Left and right galley busses are powered by their respective utility
busses and have no direct controls indicators. The utility bus OFF lights illuminate and the
EICAS advisory message L or RUTIL BUS OFF displays when a galley and utility bus are utility
bus are unpowered.
Ground Service Bus
The ground handling bus can be powered only on ground and only from the APU
generator or from the external power sources. It is provided for loads such as cargo handling and
equipment energized only during ground operation.

Autoland

During autoland, the busses isolate to allow three independent sources to power three
autopilots:

The left main system powers the left autopilot and the captains flight instrument transfer

bus
The right main systems powers the right autopilot and the first officers flight instrument

transfer bus
The battery/standby system powers the center autopilot.

Above 200 feet, loss of a generator results in:

Both bus tie breaker closing and the operating generator powers both left and right AC

busses
The left main system powers the center autopilot
NO LAND 3 appears on the Atutoland Status Annunciator

Below 200 feet, loss of a generator results in:

Both bus tie breaker remaining open

The autopilot associated with a failed generator is unpowered
The flight instruments remain powered through the flight instrument transfer busses
The autoland continues using the remaining two autopilots

When autopilots are disengaged or an autopilot go-around is performed, the electrical system
reverts to normal, non-isolated operation.
Flight Instrument Transfer Busses
Normally, the captains flight instruments are powered by the left main AC Bus, and the
first officers flight instruments are by the right main AC Bus. If the respective bus tie breaker are
in AUTO, the flight instrument transfer busses transfer to the opposite main AC bus in the event
power is lost to a main AC Bus. If power is lost to both main AC Busses, the captains flight
instruments are powered by hydraulic driven generator.
AC Transfer Busses
Left and right AC transfer busses power items considered necessary for ETOPS flights,
which are not powered by the battery/standby system. Transfer busses are normally powered by
their associated main AC busses, but also can be powered by the Hydraulic Driven Generator
when both AC busses are unpowered.

Electrical Load Shedding

Electrical load shedding occurs automatically to ensure power is available to critical and
essential equipment. If the electrical loads exceed the power available, the electrical system
automatically sheds AC loads by priority until the loads are within the capacity of the generators.
The load shedding is galley power first, then utility busses. Utility busses are followed by
individual equipment items powered by the main AC busses. When an additional power source
becomes available or the load decreases, the electrical system automatically restores power to the
shed systems (in the reverse order).
Examples of load shedding that may be observed during normal operations include:

an electric hydraulic pump prior to engine start

center tank fuel pumps prior to engine start
utility busses during engine start.

Examples of load shedding that may be observed during nonnormal operations include:

utility busses after a generator failure

center tank fuel pump after an engine failure
cabin ceiling lights after an engine failure.

On the ground, advancing the thrust levers into the take-off range with the engines shut down
may cause inadvertent load shedding of the utility busses to occur. Returning the thrust levers to
idle, then pushing the UTILITY BUS switches OFF, then ON will reset this inadvertent load
shedding.

DC Electrical System
The main DC electrical system uses transformerrectifier units (TRUs) to produce DC power.
The TRUs are powered by the main AC busses. The TRUs operate isolated from one another. If
one TRU fails, the DC bus tie breaker closes to keep both DC busses powered. Both BUS TIE
switches must be in AUTO for the DC bus tie breaker to close. There are no flight deck controls
for the main DC electrical system.

A380 POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

General
The electrical system generates and distributes electrical power to aircraft systems and can be
split into two parts:

The electrical generation system

The electrical distribution system.

The electrical generation is split in four subsystems, which are:

The Alternating Current (AC) normal generation

The Direct Current (DC) generation
The APU starting system
The AC emergency generation and static inverter

The electrical distribution feeds all aircraft electrical users with AC and DC power through three
distribution subsystems:

The primary distribution

The secondary distribution
The emergency distribution

The entire aircraft electrical system is supplied with AC and DC power sources.
AC normal generation
In normal configuration, the entire AC network can be supplied by three kinds of power
source, which are:

Four Variable Frequency Generators (VFGs)

Or two Auxiliary Power Unit Generators (APU GENs)
Or four Ground Power Units (GPUs).

115 V Alternating Current (AC) power can be provided by three types of power sources:

Engine-Driven Generators
Each engine has one generator. These engine-driven generators are the main source of
electrical power. When an engine is running, its generator provides 115 V AC power at

variable frequency to its assigned AC busbar (e.g. GEN 1 supplies AC 1). Each engine
generator can supply up to 150 KVA.

APU Generators
The APU can drive two generators. When the APU is running, it drives both generators at
the same time. These generators provide 115 V AC power at a constant frequency of 400
Hz. Each APU generator can supply up to 120 KVA.

External Power Units

On ground, it is possible to connect as many as four external power units. The external
power units provide 115 V AC power at a constant frequency of 400 Hz. Each external
power unit can supply up to 90 KVA.

DC GENERATION
In normal Configuration, the entire DC network is supplied from the AC network via:

Three Battery Charge Rectifier Units (BCRUs),

And three main batteries (BATs).

In abnormal configuration, part of the DC network can be supplied from the AC network via a
Transformer Rectifier (TR).

Transformer Rectifiers (TRs)

28 V Direct Current (DC) power is provided from AC power by four Transformer
Rectifiers (TR 1A, ESS TR, TR 2A, and APU TR). TR 2A can be backed up by TR 2B,
and TR 1A can be backed up by TR 1B.

Batteries
The aircraft has four batteries, each with a nominal capacity of 50 Ah. These batteries can
provide DC power, if AC power is not available.

APU STARTING SYSTEM

The APU needs DC electrical power to start up. The APU starting system is a part of the
DC network dedicated to the APU starting and is supplied via:

The APU TR,

Or the APU BAT.

AC EMERGENCY GENERATION and static inverter

In electrical emergency configuration, the supply of the electrical loads essential for
flying is recovered from the electrical Ram Air Turbine (RAT). When no AC power source is
available, part of the AC network can be supplied by the static inverter. The electrical distributing
system allows distribution of AC and DC electrical power to the various electrical loads
according to the availability of the power source. It also performs network protection and
reconfiguration. The electrical distributing system is split in 3 subsystems:

A primary distribution done by the Primary Electrical Power Distribution Center

(PEPDC),
A secondary distribution done by the Secondary Electrical Power Distribution centers
(SEPDCs) and the Secondary Power Distribution Boxes (SPDBs),

An emergency distribution released by the Emergency Power Center.

Control and indicating

The control and indicating of the electrical power system is composed of:

An electrical panel located on the overhead panel,

A battery maintenance panel
An emergency electrical power panel
An AC electrical ECAM page
A DC electrical ECAM page.

EMERGENCY POWER GENERATION

Emergency power generation for an aircraft dc generator must be capable of, according to
AWN 81, maintaining an adequate supply automatically to a suitable bank and pitch indicator for
a minimum period of 30 minutes. This may achieve by:

Main batteries
Separate emergency batteries
Separate standby batteries for radio
The emergency power generation for an aircraft with ac generators could be:

Auxiliary power unit (APU)

Hydraulic motor generator (HMG)
Ram air turbine (RAT)
Static invertors
Backup generators