Cooling system for engine and aircraft air
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsSteven Strecker, Xiaoliu Liu, Adam Logan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The combined cooling system uses a single heat exchanger to cool both engine air for use in an engine system and aircraft air for use in an aircraft system. More particularly, a bleed air path leads from the compressor stage to the heat exchanger where it is placed in thermal exchange contact with a flow of cooling air coming from a cooling path. From an outlet end of the heat exchanger, the bleed air splits into two paths: an aircraft air path leading to at least one aircraft system such as an Environmental control system (ECS), a wind de-icing system or the like, and an engine air path leading to at least one engine system such as a buffer air system for pressurizing the bearing cavities.
Claims18
A method of providing pressurized and cooled air to both an aircraft and a gas turbine engine thereof, the method comprising:
- bleeding pressurized air from the gas turbine engine;
- exposing the bleed air to thermal exchange contact with cooling medium in a heat exchanger, the heat exchanger having an operating envelope spanning from a high-power/low altitude reaction to a low-power/high altitude region and a capacity based on the entire operating envelope;
- subsequently to said thermal exposure, channeling a first portion of the bleed air to an environmental control system of the aircraft to satisfy an environmental cooling requirement and channelling a second portion of the bleed air to bearing cavities of bearings of rotary components of the gas turbine engine to fulfill a bearing air requirement, wherein the heat exchanger fulfills the environmental cooling requirement and the bearing air requirement across the entire operating envelope;
- wherein the steps of bleeding, exposing, and channeling are performed:
- i) in the high-power/low altitude reaction of the operating envelope during which the first portion of the bleed air has a greater flow rate than the second portion of the bleed air;
- and
- ii) in the low-power/high altitude region of the operating envelope during which the second portion of the bleed air has a greater flow rate than the first portion of the bleed air.
A gas turbine engine configured for combined cooling of engine air for use in an engine system and aircraft air for use in an aircraft air system of an aircraft by a single heat exchanger unit, the gas turbine engine comprising an engine system inlet exposed for connection with an engine air path in the aircraft, the engine system inlet leading to the engine system, and a bleed air outlet exposed for connection with a bleed air path leading to the single heat exchanger unit, the bleed air outlet being in fluid flow communication with a compressor stage of the engine, the bleed air path splitting into an aircraft air path leading to the aircraft system and the engine air path downstream from the single heat exchanger unit;
- wherein the engine air path leads to bearing cavities of bearings of rotary components of the gas turbine engine and the aircraft air path leads to an environmental control system of the aircraft,
- wherein the aircraft air path delivers a first portion of the bleed air to satisfy an environmental cooling requirement and the engine air path delivers a second portion of the bleed air to fulfill a bearing air requirement;
- wherein the single heat exchanger has an operating envelope spanning from a high-power/low altitude region to a low-power/high altitude region and a capacity based on the entire operating envelope and
- wherein the heat exchanger fulfills the environmental cooling requirement and the bearing air requirement across the entire operating envelope, wherein:
- i) in the high-power/low altitude region of the operating envelope the first portion of the bleed air has a greater flow rate than the second portion of the bleed air;
- and
- ii) in the low-power/high altitude region of the operating envelope the second portion of the bleed air has a greater flow rate than the first portion of the bleed air.
A cooling system for an aircraft having a gas turbine engine, the cooling system comprising:
- a heat exchanger unit;
- a bleed air path leading from the gas turbine engine to the heat exchanger;
- a cooling path for bringing cooling medium in thermal exchange contact with bleed air in the heat exchanger;
- an engine air path in gas flow communication with the bleed air path through the heat exchanger, leading from the heat exchanger to the engine, the engine air path leading to bearing cavities of bearings of rotary components of the gas turbine engine;
- and
- an aircraft air path in gas flow communication with the bleed air path through the heat exchanger, leading from the heat exchanger to an environmental control system of the aircraft;
- wherein the aircraft air path delivers a first portion of the bleed air to satisfy an environmental cooling requirement and the engine air path delivers a second portion of the bleed air to fulfill a bearing air requirement;
- wherein the heat exchanger has an operating envelope spanning from a high-power/low altitude region to a low-power/high altitude region and a capacity based on the entire operating envelope and wherein the heat exchanger fulfills the environmental cooling requirement and the bearing air requirement across the entire operating envelope, wherein:
- i) in the high-power/low altitude region of the operating envelope the first portion of the bleed air has a greater flow rate than the second portion of the bleed air:
- and
- ii) in the low-power/high altitude region of the operating envelope the second portion of the bleed air has a greater flow rate than the first portion of the bleed air.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.