Propulsion Powertrain Simulator By Benjamin B. Choi Future turboelectric distributed-propulsion aircraft. IMaGe LIcenseD By GraPHIcstocK. PLane courtesy of nasa. HE NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE aerospace industry and academia, has begun the development of technology for a future hybrid wing-body electric airplane with a turboelectric distributed-propulsion (TeDP) system. It is essential to design a subscale system to emulate the TeDP power grid, which would enable rapid analysis and demonstration of the proof-of-concept of the TeDP electrical system. This article describes how small electrical machines with their controllers can mimic all the components in a TeDP powertrain. The whole system model in MATLAB/Simulink was first developed and tested in simulation, and the simulation results showed that system dynamic characteristics could be implemented by using closed-loop control of the electric motor drive systems. Then, we designed a T Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2014.2364901 Date of publication: 9 February 2015 U.S. Government work not protected by U.S. Copyright. IEEE Elec trific ation Magazine / d ec em be r 2 0 1 4 23