Controls Development and Testing for Electrical Aviation

Session title: Co-ordinating Integrated Electrical Systems in Aerospace Applications
Summary: The presentation will describe some of the challenges in the introduction of a high-power electrical power system for future platforms. The presentation will focus on electrical power conditioning – a key feature of electrical power networks – and the challenges associated with a with a fuel cell fed electrical system. The integration and co-ordination of power sources will be described, indicating how the power system is able to meet demand across key modes of operation. It will provide an example method of managing the power conditioning challenges and will provide some test results from a HiL test platform.

As a Principal Research Engineer at GKN Aerospace, Tom Feehally leads work focusing on electrical architectures and integration to deliver viable aircraft electrification, in particular utilising hydrogen fuel cell power sources. He has over 15 years experience in the field of electrical energy systems with publications and patents covering power conversion, energy storage, multi-domain systems.

Session title: Model Based Design for Hybrid Electric Propulsion Systems
Summary: The increasing complexity of hybrid electric propulsion systems requires rigorous modelling and simulation methodologies throughout the development lifecycle. This presentation examines critical architectural considerations and best practices in Model-Based Design (MBD) for electric drive systems. Practical use cases are explored across key verification and design domains, including the development of motor control algorithms, power quality assessment, and electrical fault hazard analysis. Attendees will gain insight into how simulation-driven workflows accelerate system validation, mitigate early-stage design risks, and optimize electrical performance in hybrid propulsion architectures.

At present, Nouman Sadiq is the technical lead for motor drive systems at Collins Aerospace, where he is responsible for designing electric drive control for hybrid electric propulsion systems. He has generated significant IP on:
• The control of high-voltage active rectifiers.
• High energy electrical fault analysis.
• Short-circuit protection in HVDC networks.
Nouman also lead the modelling and simulation of motor drive systems at Collins, UK, collaborating with customers to flow down aircraft and engine requirements to our design team.

Session titles: Welcome speech & Closing session

Dr. Vincent Zeng is a Reader in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath and a member of IAAPS. With previous industry experience at GE Grid Solutions and in automotive power electronics, he has led the design of HVDC converter systems, DC-DC converters, and inverters used in high-performance electric vehicles. His research focuses on power electronics, motor drives, electric propulsion systems, hybrid electric vehicles, and renewable energy integration, helping advance the next generation of electrical aviation technologies.

Session titles: Welcome speech, Concepts and Benefits of Controls Testing with HIL, Closing session

Experienced Director Of Sales & Marketing with a demonstrated history of working in the electrical and electromechanical industry. Skilled in Negotiations, International Business, long-term Business Generation, discovery of Growth Opportunities and Management with a strong customer focus to assure sustainable long-term business to the satisfaction of the customers – including Profit and Loss responsibility. Strong sales professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Industrial Engineering from Hamburger Fern-Hochschule.

Session title: BMS development and testing at Vertical Aerospace
Summary: Developing a battery management system for an all-electric eVTOL aircraft creates a distinctive verification challenge: the application is novel, the safety objectives are stringent, and the programme must iterate rapidly towards certification. This presentation explores how Vertical Aerospace uses hardware-in-the-loop testing to investigate unexpected behaviour, exercise faults safely and support repeatable, traceable verification. It also examines how learning from prototype flight testing feeds back into laboratory models and regression tests, creating a continuous loop between real aircraft behaviour and development of the certified system.

Jacob Paton is a Powertrain Validation & Verification Engineer at Vertical Aerospace, specializing in the development and testing of battery management systems (BMS) for next-generation electric aircraft. A First Class MEng graduate in Integrated Mechanical & Electrical Engineering from the University of Bath, he brings expertise in lithium battery systems, power electronics, and electromechanical integration, with a strong focus on advancing reliable and sustainable aerospace technologies.

Session title: Key Design Factors in Closed-Loop Motor PHIL
Summary: Motor Power Hardware-in-the-Loop systems enable realistic and reproducible testing of motor-drive inverters and their control systems without requiring a physical machine. Their performance, however, depends on the complete closed-loop system rather than on the real-time model alone. This presentation discusses key technical factors influencing Motor PHIL performance, including interface delays, sampling and switching frequencies, converter topology, control bandwidth, measurement quality, and the available voltage margin between the emulator and the device under test. These factors are illustrated using a practical Motor PHIL setup with real-time simulation, FPGA-based control, and a power electronic emulator. Selected implementation challenges and measurement results are presented to demonstrate their impact on dynamic behaviour, stability, and emulation accuracy.

Martin Suberski is a Power Electronics and Real-Time Systems Specialist at TU Ilmenau Transfer GmbH. He has more than ten years of experience in the development, modelling, control, and validation of power electronic systems, with a particular focus on Power Hardware-in-the-Loop testing, FPGA-based control, and real-time system integration. His work covers the complete development process from converter hardware and control algorithms to communication interfaces, test-system integration, and experimental validation.

Session title: Advanced Energy System Facilities and Techniques at IAAPS
Summary: This presentation will provide an overview of the IAAPS facilities and core capabilities plus the vision for the future Energy Systems Lab at IAAPS. It will cover core functionalities and applications in the transport and energy sectors, including different tests clients could perform and risks they can reduce with these tests.

Dr Laiz Souto is an electrical engineer specialised in electrical power systems and highly accomplished R&D&I professional with over 12 years of international experience. She is the Lead Engineer of the Energy Systems lab at IAAPS. She has a growing track record of leading and managing interdisciplinary multi-stakeholder projects on clean energy and infrastructure resilience. She is a member of IET, IEEE, and CIGRE and actively participates in working groups and technical committees facing the energy industry.

Session title: Advanced Energy System Facilities and Techniques at IAAPS
Summary: This presentation will provide an overview of the IAAPS facilities and core capabilities plus the vision for the future Energy Systems Lab at IAAPS. It will cover core functionalities and applications in the transport and energy sectors, including different tests clients could perform and risks they can reduce with these tests.

Ryan Nicholls is a Business Development Manager​​ for Aerospace, Research and Innovation at IAAPS. He has a background in Synthetic Chemistry and Reactor Systems, Thermal Management Systems, Electrical Machines and Battery Development.

Session title: Advanced Energy System Facilities and Techniques at IAAPS
Summary: This presentation will provide an overview of the IAAPS facilities and core capabilities plus the vision for the future Energy Systems Lab at IAAPS. It will cover core functionalities and applications in the transport and energy sectors, including different tests clients could perform and risks they can reduce with these tests.

Dr Christopher Vagg is an Automotive Engineer specialising in electric powertrain research and development. He is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath. As an academic, his research skills are complemented by experience in industry, including the highest levels of professional motorsport (Formula E / F1). He has experience of vehicle powertrain architectural design, simulation, safety analysis, systems integration, validation and program management.

Session title: Motor/Propulsion System Development for Electric Aerospace Projects

Prof. Tao Yang is a professor of Aerospace Electrical Systems and the Director of Digital Twin for Aviation Electrification Laboratory at the Power Electronics, Machines, and Control Institute, University of Nottingham. His pioneering work in power electronic systems and high-speed motor drives for next-generation aircraft has led to impactful collaborations industrial and academic partners globally with over 160 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers as well as five book chapters. Prof. Yang is an IET Fellow and an Industrial Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He serves as a Vice President of IEEE Power Electronics Society, providing strategic leadership for the Society’s global membership portfolio and help shape the long-term direction of the power-electronics community. Prof. Yang also serves as the Chair of the Technical Committee on Aerospace Power in the IEEE Power Electronics Society and as an Administrative Committee member of the IEEE Transportation Electrification Council. Prof. Yang plays a key role in shaping the future of aerospace power electronics and digital twinning for transportation electrification. He also contributes to industry standards as a member of the SAE AE-7M Standards Committee.

Session title: Development of Real-time Simulation and PHiL for Aerospace Electrical Networks
Summary: The presentation will explore the advances and key challenges associated with DC electrical networks for electric aircraft. The presentation will show the key methods of integrating and coordinating of power sources and explain how the DC electrical network is managed to meet power demand across key operating modes. It will demonstrate the simulation of DC electrical networks, the conversion of electromagnetic transient (EMT) models into real-time simulations, and their validation results through power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHiL) testing rigs at the University of Bath.

Hanwen Zhang is a Research Associate with University of Bath in United Kingdom, specialised in power electronics and system protection applied to DC microgrids and electrified propulsion systems. He holds a PhD degree from Aalborg University and was a Doctoral researcher with EUROfusion Consortium. He has been an active member of IEEE PELS, CIGRE Next Generation Network Denmark and UK. His research interests include microgrids, DC circuit breakers, superconducting DC networks and power systems for nuclear fusion applications.

Session: Live demonstration of aerospace HIL simulation

Brian Kindinger leads the eFPGASIM team at OPAL-RT with a focus in electromechanical and battery management simulations. He brings 20 years of industry experience ranging from embedded control & automation to hardware-in-the-loop production automation. Brian holds a Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida.