The main objective of the proposal was the development of an hardware device able to implement an innovative power management (I-LPM) function for an aeronautical electrical network.

The proposal was based on the two key points:

1. The first one concerned the I-LPM strategy for the specific application, that was to be first derived and tested in a simulation environment. In a second phase, the above strategy was implemented, adopting semi-automatic techniques for translation of the simulation model into firmware.
2. The second key point is about an EPC (Electrical Power Centre) hardware extension that was designed and realised, where a modular approach was considered for the overall equipment implementation. Each cell was composed by a programmable device, an interfacing stage and possibly by an innovative power device switching component.

A “master” module was able to implement the I-LPM concept and communicate with “slave” modules for correct energy management strategy implementation. Different types of “slave” modules were considered, taking into account the necessity of I-LPM strategy implementation for both “fixed power” and “variable power” loads.

A preliminary analysis phase was conducted in order to analyse the fundamental requirements for the project objectives and derive the specifications set. After the model's validation, it was necessary to implement the derived models as real electronic components. Before integration on the ETB (Electrical Test Bench), the hardware performances were towards the expected results, considering the requirements derived in the first stage as well as the obtained simulation results. Next, a complete test case set was performed in order to evidence the expected results fulfilment. Finally, an optimisation stage considered the user's feedbacks and appropriately manage potential faults occurring on the electrical network.