Dual valve gas pressure equalization system and method
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorKevin Schmidt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aircraft gas transport system including a high pressure gas supply line having a supply valve, and an equilibrium gas line joined at junctions with the high pressure gas supply line upstream and downstream from the supply valve, and in flow communication with the high pressure gas supply line, the equilibrium gas line having an equilibrium valve and a flow restrictor, the equilibrium valve having an exit orifice and the flow restrictor being offset from the exit orifice of the equilibrium valve.
Claims20
An aircraft gas transport system comprising:
- a high pressure gas supply line having a supply valve;
- and
- an equilibrium gas line joined at junctions with the high pressure gas supply line upstream and downstream from the supply valve, and in flow communication with the high pressure gas supply line, the equilibrium gas line having an equilibrium valve and a flow restrictor, the equilibrium valve having an exit orifice and the flow restrictor being offset from the exit orifice of the equilibrium valve.
The gas transport system of claim 10, where the equilibrium valve is a ball valve and the flow arresting member is a ball of the ball valve, the flow restrictor being disposed within a gas passage of the ball.
The gas transport system of claim 14, wherein the predetermined distance is at least eight times a diameter of the equilibrium gas line.
An aircraft gas system comprising:
- a high pressure gas supply control system coupled in flow communication with a high pressure gas supply line, the gas supply control system including a fast acting supply valve;
- and
- a pressurization control system dependent from the high pressure gas supply line that is coupled in flow communication with an equilibrium gas line, where the equilibrium gas line is joined at junctions with the high pressure gas supply line upstream and downstream from the fast acting supply valve, and in flow communication with the high pressure gas supply line, the pressurization control system includes a fast acting equilibrium valve and a flow restrictor, where the fast acting equilibrium valve has an exit orifice and the flow restrictor is offset from the exit orifice of the fast acting equilibrium valve.
A method for pressurizing a gas transport system after a flow of gas through the gas transport system has been prevented, the method comprising:
- opening an equilibrium valve while maintaining a closed position of a supply valve to allow gas to flow through a flow restrictor that controls a rate of change of a pressure downstream from the equilibrium valve;
- determining that the pressure downstream from the equilibrium valve or the pressure downstream from the supply valve is at a stabilized pressure when the equilibrium valve is open and the supply valve is closed;
- and
- opening the supply valve to provide a flow of gas through the supply valve at an operating pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.