Abstract:
In an air conditioning system for an aircraft, two pre-mixing units respectively mix cold air from two air conditioning units with recirculated fuselage interior air from two recirculation units, to prepare two pre-mixed air flows that are both directed into and mixed together in a common air distribution mixing chamber from which mixed air distribution lines branch off to respectively associated separate air conditioning zones within the fuselage. Post-mixing units are respectively interposed in the mixed air distribution lines and respectively mix additional quantities of recirculated fuselage interior air into the mixed air distribution lines. Thereby, the admixture of recirculated air is divided into at least two stages, the system provides redundant failure tolerant operation, and the danger of ice formation in the air lines is reliably prevented even while the air conditioning units provide cold air at a temperature below the water freezing point.
Abstract:
A high efficiency environmental control system uses air exhausted from a pressurized cabin to cool compressed air entering the cabin. Air exhausted from the cabin may flow directly from the cabin through a heat exchanger which cools the compressed air entering the cabin. Alternatively, air exiting the cabin may flow through a turbine which expands and cools the air prior to passing through the heat exchanger. The turbine may be used to drive a compressor to provide the compressed air to the cabin. Supplemental power to drive the compressor may be provided by a second turbine driven by bleed air from one or more turbine engines, or by an electric motor. Bleed air may also be mixed with air from the compressor to provide fresh air to the cabin. To further increase efficiency and meet the cooling requirements of the cabin on the ground and at altitude, switch dampers may be employed to selectably vary the flow path of air supplied to the cabin.
Abstract:
An integrated environmental control system is disclosed for providing conditioned supply air to loads such as a passenger cabin of an aircraft. The system comprises at least two shafts, each shaft having a fan, compressor, and turbine mechanically secured to the shaft; common heat transfer components including primary and secondary heat exchangers, a reheater, and a condenser with a water collector; lines that deliver the supply air separately through the compressors and turbines of each shaft and deliver the supply air in common through the common heat transfer components to the load; and shutoff valves secured in fluid communication with each turbine. Upon interruption in the flow of cooled supply air out of a particular turbine secured to any of the shafts, a shutoff valve shuts off transfer of the supply air to that particular turbine on that interrupted shaft and the remaining shafts and their respective fans, compressors, turbines, and the common heat transfer components continue to receive, condition and deliver the supply air to the load in a redundant operating mode. Because the total heat exchange capacity of the integrated, common heat transfer components is large enough to satisfy conditioned air requirements of the load, and in the redundant operating mode the supply air is exposed to that total heat exchange capacity, the system provides enhanced redundant operating mode performance and offers decreased weight, size, and cost over known systems having mechanical components of a comparable size, weight and work capacity.
Abstract:
In an aircraft, a pressure swing adsorption system (23) is used both for removing carbon dioxide and water vapour from recycled cabin air and for producing in an emergency oxygen from pressurized engine bleed air.
Abstract:
An advanced hybrid air and vapor cycle environmental control system (ECS) to provide conditioned, pressurized air to an aircraft as well as liquid cooling for the avionics of the aircraft.
Abstract:
The invention is an energy-efficient all-electric environmental control system (70). The system includes a cabin compressor (16) and a Freon compressor (14), both of which are commonly driven by a two-speed electric motor (12). The motor (12) operates at low speed at low altitudes and on the ground to drive the Freon compressor (14). Freon fluid then cools the electric motor (12) and the cabin (18) and avionics (56) by means of the evaporator dehumidifier systems (72) and (74), respectively. At high altitudes the electric motor (12) runs at high speed to drive the cabin compressor (16) to provide pressurization for the cabin (18). In this operation mode, the Freon compressor can be disconnected via an electromagnetic clutch (48).The ECS (70) also includes a liquid Freon pump (52) which can be utilized when the Freon compressor is disconnected or bypassed to circulate liquid Freon to cool the electric motor (12) and to circulate through the evaporators (38) and (76). The pump (52) is driven by an ac or dc motor (54).
Abstract:
An aircraft cabin air-conditioning system, of the type that uses engine bleed air, regulates the amount of tapped bleed air so as to be just sufficient to maintain a desired cabin pressure, thus minimizing the fuel burn allocated to the aircraft's environmental control system. The air-conditioning system cools the bleed air by passing it first through a heat exchanger 50 of a circulating glycol/water coolant loop 55 for heat transfer to a coolant and then through an evaporator 60 of an electrically-driven vapor-cycle loop 56 for supplemental heat transfer to a refrigerant. The rate at which the refrigerant is circulated through the evaporator 60 is regulated to be just sufficient to provide a required supplemental cooling capacity, thereby minimizing electrical power consumed by a compressor 63 that forms part of the vapor-cycle loop 56. A subbranch of the coolant loop 55 carries the coolant through a condenser 64 of the vapor-cycle loop 56 where there is an additional transfer of heat to the coolant. Bulk fuel in the aircraft fuel tanks as well as heat loss from the wing's lower and upper skin surfaces during flight are used as a heat sink for heat that has been transferred from the bleed air to the coolant, and for this purpose the coolant loop 55 circulates the fluid coolant through a fuel-cooled heat exchanger 59. To further conserve the volume of air that must be bled from the engine, used cabin air is filtered and recirculated through the evaporator 60 of the vapor-cycle loop 56 where it is recooled prior to being reintroduced into the cabin.
Abstract:
Disclosed is a method including sampling the air of a pressurized zone of an aircraft by identifying a pre-existing pressurized air flow in a pressurized zone of an aircraft without substantially blocking the pre-existing pressurized air flow and creating a data record that can be used when cleaning the cabin air ducts using cleaning techniques suitable for cleaning the respective air duct elements using a sequence of cleaning acts suitable for cleaning select elements of the cabin air ducts. The data record includes identification information which can be used to report incidents to the relevant aviation authority.
Abstract:
An aircraft Ultra-High-Temperature Sterilization Air Conditioning System (UHTS-ACS) and a sterilization method are provided. An ultra-high-temperature sterilization recirculated air device is added on the basis of a traditional aircraft air conditioning system. The recirculated air device includes an ultra-high-temperature sterilization recirculated airline (9), a heater (26), a high-temperature injection mixing chamber (27) and a primary heat exchanger (12) bypass. The recirculated airline is connected to the high-temperature injection mixing chamber (27). After being mixed with high-temperature engine bleed air (I) under the injection action of an injector (28), the mixed high-temperature gas enters a compressor (15) through the primary heat exchanger (12) bypass to be compressed and heated, is regulated to a suitable temperature through cooling of a secondary heat exchanger (13) and a turbine (16), and then is supplied to an aircraft cabin. The system and method can perform ultra-high-temperature sterilization on the recirculated air of the aircraft air conditioning system, thus ensuring the cleanliness of the aircraft cabin supply air and the hygiene safety of people on board, and thereby achieving the effects of killing the infectious viruses and inhibiting cross infection among people.