Cooling fluid used as secondary fuel source

Abstract

An aircraft system includes a thermal load, a controller, a tank for storing a cooling liquid, and a supply system for moving the cooling liquid outwardly of the tank and through a control valve to the thermal load. A controller is programmed to control the supply system. A conduit downstream of the thermal load is configured to communicate the cooling liquid to a fuel metering unit. The fuel metering unit also receives fuel from a high pressure pump. The fuel metering unit is configured to deliver a mixture of the cooling liquid and the fuel into a combustor on an associated aircraft engine. The controller programmed to determine a percentage solubility of the cooling fluid into the fuel at a detected temperature and pressure of the fuel reaching the fuel metering unit. The cooling fluid is combustible and soluble in the fuel. An aircraft and a method are also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.