Active fuel thermal conditioning for aircraft
AssigneeNorthrop Grumman Systems Corporation
InventorsClarence Lui, Matthew Dooley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Fuel used as a coolant in an aircraft can be thermally conditioned for active thermal management of the airframe and engine. The fuel can be thermally conditioned using the residual cooling capacity of a power and thermal module (PTM), providing flexibility of thermal system design, or via a compact engine-mounted turbo cooler, to maximize system efficiency. The fuel can be stored in a thermal reserve tank to provide a missionized heat sink capable serviceable for periodic high heat flux equipment. The cooling and provision of cooled fuel to aircraft components can be intelligently controlled to provide efficient cooling and effectively unlimited ground hold times.
Claims7
An active aircraft thermal management system comprising:
- at least one fuel supply conduit to provide supply fuel, having a coking limit, from at least one fuel storage tank, to sink waste heat from one or more aircraft systems to the supply fuel, and send the waste heat to one or more engines via the supply fuel;
- at least one engine fuel system to sink heat from engine lubricant to the supply fuel and to provide at least one of the one or more engines with the supply fuel for combustion;
- at least one return fuel conduit to return the supply fuel as return fuel;
- a power and thermal module (PTM) comprising an air cycle machine configured to provide power to start one or more of the one or more engines and to condition air to provide cool air to a thermal load;
- a thermal tank to hold thermally conditioned return fuel;
- and
- at least one turbo machine mounted to at least one of the one or more engines, the at least one turbo machine comprising, on a single shaft, a cooling turbine, a compressor, and a power turbine, the at least one turbo machine being configured to expand engine combustor air to drive a closed loop air cooling cycle to thermally condition the supply fuel to below a supply temperature such that the supply fuel is capable of cooling components of at least one of the one or more engines and remaining below the coking limit prior to the combustion in any of the one or more engines, the at least one turbo machine being further configured to return the expanded air to a turbine discharge of the at least one of the one or more engines to which the at least one turbo machine is mounted, such that the expanded air rejoins engine main flow to produce thrust.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.