US 2024/0182086 A1Published application

Hyperloop vapor cycle environmental control system

AssigneeHamilton Sundstrand Corporation

InventorRichard Rusich

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Abstract

The present disclosure provides for hyperloop vapor cycle environmental control systems (ECS) and related methods. More particularly, the present disclosure provides for hyperloop vapor cycle environmental control systems and methods, with the hyperloop vapor cycle environmental control systems and methods configured without a compressor needed to pump a refrigerant through the system and configured without a condenser heat exchanger needed to condense gas refrigerant to a liquid to reject the heat of compression of a compressor to the ambient atmosphere. Since there is no need for a compressor, the example hyperloop ECS of the present disclosure requires only a small fraction of the electrical power of a standard vapor cycle air conditioning system. Power is needed substantially only for the ECS controller and some various valves.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A hyperloop vapor cycle environmental control system comprising:

a vehicle cabin of a vehicle positioned in an air-evacuated tube of a hyperloop;
a water vessel positioned on board the vehicle, the water vessel housing water and steam at a pressure greater than a pressure of the air-evacuated tube;
wherein a first portion of the water from the water vessel is configured to flow through a cabin expansion valve where a pressure and a temperature of the first portion of the water is reduced below a temperature of the vehicle cabin thereby turning the first portion of the water into a two-phase water and vapor stream, the two-phase water and vapor stream thereafter configured to enter a first evaporator heat exchanger where the two-phase water and vapor stream absorbs heat from a flow of entering warm cabin air, thereby reducing a temperature of the entering warm cabin air and providing a flow of cooled cabin air that exits the first evaporator heat exchanger, with the cooled cabin air configured to re-enter the vehicle cabin for cooling purposes of the vehicle cabin;
and
wherein the heat absorbed into the two-phase water and vapor stream results in the water from the two-phase water and vapor stream evaporating, thereby yielding produced steam that is configured to exit the first evaporator heat exchanger.

2 more elements

A method for operating a hyperloop vapor cycle environmental control system for a vehicle cabin of a vehicle positioned in an air-evacuated tube of a hyperloop, the vehicle including a water vessel positioned on board the vehicle, the water vessel housing water and steam at a pressure greater than a pressure of the air-evacuated tube:

the method comprising:
determining that the vehicle cabin should be cooled;
flowing a first portion of the water from the water vessel through a cabin expansion valve where a pressure and a temperature of the first portion of the water is reduced below a temperature of the vehicle cabin thereby turning the first portion of the water into a two-phase water and vapor stream, the two-phase water and vapor stream thereafter entering a first evaporator heat exchanger where the two-phase water and vapor stream absorbs heat from a flow of entering warm cabin air thereby reducing a temperature of the entering warm cabin air and providing a flow of cooled cabin air that exits the first evaporator heat exchanger, with the cooled cabin air re-entering the vehicle cabin for cooling purposes of the vehicle cabin;
and
wherein the heat absorbed into the two-phase water and vapor stream results in the water from the two-phase water and vapor stream evaporating, thereby yielding produced steam that exits the first evaporator heat exchanger.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.