Hyperloop environmental control system
AssigneeHamilton Sundstrand Corporation
InventorRichard Rusich
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An environmental control system for conditioning a cabin of a vehicle positioned in an enclosed air-evacuated environment includes a first inlet for receiving a first medium and a second inlet for receiving a second medium. The first medium and the second medium are mixed at a mixing point located upstream from the cabin to form a mixed medium. The environmental control system additionally includes a coolant loop having a coolant circulating therein and at least one heat exchanger. The coolant loop includes a pump for circulating the coolant. The coolant is thermally coupled to the mixed medium at the at least one heat exchanger.
Claims19
An environmental control system for conditioning a cabin of a vehicle positioned in an enclosed air-evacuated environment, the environmental control system comprising:
- a first source of medium, the first source of medium including a vessel located on-board the vehicle;
- a first inlet for receiving aa first flow of medium from the first source of medium;
- a second inlet for receiving a second flow of medium from a second source of medium, wherein the first flow of medium and the second flow of medium are mixed at a mixing point located upstream from the cabin to form a flow of mixed medium;
- and
- a coolant loop having a coolant circulating therein, the coolant loop including a pump for circulating the coolant and at least one heat exchanger, wherein the mixing point of the first flow of medium and the second flow of medium is arranged upstream from the at least one heat exchanger, the coolant being thermally coupled to the flow of mixed medium at the at least one heat exchanger.
A method of operating an environmental control system to condition a cabin of a vehicle positioned in an enclosed, air-evacuated tube, the method comprising:
- mixing a first flow of medium with a second flow of medium at a mixing point to form a flow of mixed medium, the first flow of medium being provided from a vessel located on-board the vehicle and the second flow of medium being provided from the cabin of the vehicle;
- conditioning the flow of mixed medium at a first heat exchanger to form a conditioned flow of mixed medium, the flow of mixed medium being conditioned by coolant from a coolant loop at the first heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger being arranged downstream from the mixing point;
- and
- releasing heat from the coolant at a second heat exchanger of the coolant loop, the second heat exchanger being fluidly coupled to the first heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.