Airport gate installations often have excess power capacity because they are designed to cover the power needs in a worst case scenario and not just to cater for the actual power consumption. The surplus may be considerable, hence a great resource of upgrade of gate performance.
To utilise the available power smarter, it is a matter of removing complexity in the existing installation, according to Poul Elvstroem, Vice President Sales & Marketing at ITW GSE.
Through many years of experience doing worldwide airport installations, it has provided the company with extensive field data recordings.
Elvstroem explains: "Those recordings show that 400Hz ground power units rarely draw full current. And if they do, it’s only for very short time windows. Due to its variable frequency drive technology that allow stepless regulation of the discharge temperature, the intelligent ITW PCA, the brain of the IPM system, can easily cope with these peaks. At ITW GSE, we call it from box to gate system."
At all times, the PCA ensures that the total power consumption does not exceed the power capacity limit. When connected GPUs draw more power i.e. during aircraft engine start, the PCA smoothly reduces its own consumption, if required. And because the GPUs only require more power for a very short time i.e. from a few seconds to a few minutes, passengers will not even register any rise of the cabin temperature.
The IPM system is a big advantage for airports that have reached their power capacity limits. Besides the opportunity to upgrade gate systems, without investments in expensive infrastructure, the simpler installation reduces maintenance costs.
Elvestroem adds: "ITW is ready with advice and calculations and confident that this will be very attractive for airport consultants and engineering firms specialised in airport expansion projects. ITW GSE is committed to supplying the aviation industry with the cleanest, most reliable and cost-efficient GSE systems available. The new IPM solution is definitely proof of concept and a demonstration of the company’s capacity."
