JP2006231974A - Air conditioner for aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
Provide air conditioning equipment for aircraft that can secure the prescribed fresh air required for in-flight passengers in high-altitude flight and that requires less power to compress low ambient pressure to the pressure required for pressurization To do.
[Solution]
A pressure regulating valve 1 that keeps the supply air pressure constant, a primary heat exchanger 2 that heat-exchanges high-temperature and high-pressure air with ram air to lower the air temperature, a flow control valve 3 that determines the supply air flow rate, a compressor 4AC, and an electric motor 4AM and turbine 4AT are directly connected to each other by shaft 4AS, rotate integrally, adiabatically compress air, then heat exchange with ram air by secondary heat exchanger 5, and adiabatic expansion by turbine 4AT, and compressor 4BC and electric motor 4BM and turbine 4BT are directly connected by shaft 4BS and rotated together. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner for an aircraft that supplies pressurized air into an aircraft to cool and heat the inside of the aircraft and at the same time to supply prescribed fresh air necessary for passengers in the aircraft.

  Air conditioners for aircraft are required to have high reliability and flight safety. For this reason, air conditioning equipment is not a method for obtaining desired air by cooling or heating air conditioning air with low and high temperature heat sources. The air taken in is compressed and heated by high-temperature and high-pressure air (hereinafter referred to as “engine bleed”) obtained by compressing and heating in the high-pressure stage of a multistage compressor directly connected to the engine, or by an auxiliary power unit (hereinafter referred to as “APU”). Simple and reliable to obtain the desired air by directly using high-temperature and high-pressure air as the supply air, and cooling the high-temperature and high-pressure air through the heat exchanger with ram air, which is the low-temperature and low-pressure ambient air outside the machine. High air cycle method is widely adopted.

  However, engine bleed cannot be used as air conditioning air as it is because its temperature and pressure vary greatly depending on flight conditions and weather conditions. In addition, the aircraft's ambient pressure at low altitudes is low and requires a lot of energy to take in the defined fresh air required for in-flight passenger occupants. Therefore, a system different from the air conditioner on the ground is adopted for the air conditioner of the aircraft.

  A conventional air-cycle aircraft air conditioner is shown in FIG. That is, a pressure regulating valve 1 that keeps the supply air pressure constant regardless of flight conditions, a primary heat exchanger 2 that heat-exchanges high-temperature and high-pressure air with ram air to lower the air temperature, and a flow control valve 3 that determines the supply air flow rate. The compressor 4C and the turbine 4T are directly connected to each other by the shaft 4S and rotated together. After the air is adiabatically compressed, the secondary heat exchanger 5 exchanges heat with the ram air, and the turbine 4T adiabatically expands to further reduce the temperature. An air cycle machine (hereinafter referred to as “ACM”) 4, a flow control valve 7 that keeps the turbine outlet temperature constant, a water separator 11 that removes moisture in the air, and a flow control valve 21 that adjusts the air temperature, A high-temperature air line 19 for supplying high-temperature air for temperature adjustment, a shut-off valve 16 for shutting off high-temperature medium-pressure air to the anti-fogging and anti-icing system, and a metal pipe connecting them.

  Since it is the above structure, the air conditioning apparatus of an aircraft can produce desired air under all flight conditions and weather conditions. That is, the high-temperature and high-pressure air from the engine bleed air or APU is controlled by the pressure regulating valve 1 so as to be a constant differential pressure with respect to the ambient atmospheric pressure regardless of the flight conditions and weather conditions. The high-temperature and medium-pressure air that has exited the pressure regulating valve 1 enters the primary heat exchanger 2 and undergoes primary heat exchange with the low-temperature and low-pressure ram air to reduce the temperature. However, the primary heat exchanger 2 alone cannot generate sufficient low-temperature air necessary for air conditioning. The air leaving the primary heat exchanger 2 is supplied to the flow control valve 3.

  The flow control valve 3 controls to supply a constant flow of air, and the air thus controlled is supplied to the compressor 4 </ b> C constituting the ACM 4. And it adiabatically compresses with the compressor 4C, raises temperature and pressure, and enters the secondary heat exchanger 5. The reason for raising the temperature and pressure by the compressor 4C is to efficiently exchange heat with the ram air to produce low temperature air necessary for air conditioning. The air is heat-exchanged with ram air in the secondary heat exchanger 5 to reduce the temperature, and drives the turbine 4T constituting the ACM 4. Due to the adiabatic expansion work when driving the turbine 4T, the air loses energy, and the air temperature drops to near 0 ° C. The turbine driving axial force is directly transmitted to the compressor 4C via the shaft 4S, and the axial force is used for the adiabatic compression of air described above.

The low-temperature and low-pressure air that exits the ACM 4 enters the water separator 11, and moisture contained in the air is condensed and removed by centrifugal force. When the outlet air temperature of the turbine 4T is low and there is a risk of icing in the condenser bag inside the water separator 11, the flow rate control valve 7 is opened and hot air is supplied to maintain the temperature at an appropriate temperature. The The low-temperature and low-pressure air from the outlet of the water separator 11 is mixed with the high-temperature air from the flow control valve 21, is controlled to a desired air temperature, is guided to the pressurization chamber, passes through the pressurization control valve 12, and the electronic equipment chamber. Or discharged outside the machine. The shutoff valve 16 supplies high-temperature medium-pressure air necessary for the anti-fogging and anti-icing system. In this way, the air-conditioning apparatus using the air cycle method uses the air taken in from the outside as the direct air using engine bleed air or APU, so it can take in fresh air necessary for ventilation at the same time. It can be configured simply and has superior reliability and flight safety compared to the vapor cycle system.
JP 2002-2596 A (FIGS. 1-2)

  However, with the above prior art configuration, it is difficult to ensure the prescribed fresh air required for in-flight passengers under all flight conditions, especially at high altitudes, low ambient pressures up to the pressure required for pressurization. The power for compression is enormous. For example, when applying vapor-type air conditioning, which is currently widely used on the ground, to aircraft, power consumption is enormous, and in the case of large aircraft, there is a possibility that it can be handled by increasing the size of the generator. The generator is significantly larger than the fuselage scale, making it difficult to respond. Further, when high-temperature high-pressure air from engine bleed air or APU is used as an air source, a compressor with a high compression ratio is required to compress a low external pressure to a desired pressure required for pressurization.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention heat-exchanges the supply air taken from outside the machine to high temperature and high pressure with ram air, lowers the air temperature, leads to the compressor and adiabatically compresses, and then heat-exchanges again. In an air conditioner of an aircraft equipped with an air cycle machine that adiabatically expands by a turbine directly connected to the compressor via a shaft and further reduces the temperature, an electric motor is incorporated on the shaft directly connecting the compressor and the turbine, It is configured so that aerodynamic power and electric power can cooperate.

  Furthermore, the present invention relates to an apparatus for air-conditioning an aircraft configured such that ram air is adiabatically compressed by a compressor and then merged with high-temperature and high-pressure supply air taken from outside the machine and led to a pressurized chamber. The pressurized turbine chamber is supplied with air from the pressurized chamber, and the power required for intake of the ram air is obtained from the energy recovered from the pressurized chamber air.

  Furthermore, the present invention is an apparatus for air-conditioning an aircraft in which air is made to flow by an air cycle machine in which an electric motor is incorporated on a shaft directly connecting a compressor and a turbine, and the two air cycle machines are installed in parallel. A supply system for supplying high-temperature and high-pressure supply air and ram air from outside the machine to both air cycle machines is provided, and the supply air and ram air can be adiabatically compressed.

  By cooperating engine bleed or air force and power from the APU as a power source for the air conditioner, the required fresh air required for in-flight passengers can be captured under all flight conditions. APU power consumption can be reduced. Further, by cooperating the engine bleed air or the aerodynamic force and power from the APU as the power source, the electric motor required as the air conditioner can be set relatively easily according to the body scale. Furthermore, because the ram air is compressed to the required pressure in two stages, the compressor of the exhaust turbine and the compressor of the ACM, it does not require a compressor with a high compression ratio and can be used for an air conditioner in a wide range of flight conditions. .

  The first feature of the present invention is that engine bleed air taken from the outside of the machine or high-temperature and high-pressure air from the APU is used as air, and an electric motor is incorporated on the shaft directly connecting the compressor and the turbine, and two of them are arranged to form an air cycle machine. It is a point to configure. Secondly, the heat and potential energy of the air in the pressurized chamber are recovered by the turbine, the ram air is taken in by the compressor directly connected to the turbine and the shaft, and the desired air pressure is obtained by both or one of the air cycle machines. To increase the pressure. In this way, air force and electric power cooperate as a power source of the air conditioner, and further, the air conditioner power source is appropriately switched between air only or air force and electric power depending on the flight conditions, and the air conditioner This makes it possible to minimize power consumption. When it is difficult to take in the fresh air required for passengers in the cabin by using only the engine bleed air or air from the APU, the ram air is taken in and boosted by the two-stage compressor. Minimize consumption.

  The outline of the high efficiency hybrid air conditioner of the first embodiment provided by the present invention is as shown in FIG. The same components as those in FIG. 3 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals. The supply air A and the pressurized chamber B are connected via an air conditioning unit C. The air conditioning unit C is mainly composed of ACM4, and a bleed line 18 for introducing the supply air A to the inlet C11 of the ACM4. Are connected, the outlet C21 of the ACM 4 and the inlet C12 of the ACM 4 are communicated with each other by a high-temperature air line 19, and the other outlets T21, T22 of the ACM 4 and the pressurized chamber B are communicated by a pressurized supply line 20.

  A pressure regulating valve 1, a primary heat exchanger 2, and a flow control valve 3 are arranged in the extraction line 18, and a secondary heat exchanger 5 and a flow control valve 6 are arranged in the high temperature air line 19. The bleed line 18 branches downstream of the pressure regulating valve 1 and communicates with the anti-fogging and anti-icing system via the shutoff valve 16. A turbine 10 and a water separator 11 are arranged in the pressurized supply line 20 so that the fan 8 and the turbine 10 are directly connected by a shaft 9 and rotate integrally.

  In the above configuration, in this embodiment, the ACM 4 is directly connected to the shaft 4AS directly connecting the compressor 4AC and the turbine 4AT, the air cycle machine including the electric motor 4AM that can rotationally drive the shaft 4AS, and the compressor 4BC and the turbine 4BT. An exhaust turbine mechanism 14 in which two air cycle machines composed of an electric motor 4BM that can rotationally drive the shaft 4BS are arranged in parallel to the shaft 4BS that rotates, and the compressor 14C and the turbine 14T are directly connected by the shaft 14S and rotate integrally. It is connected to the inlet of the turbine 14T so that the air in the pressurized chamber B is guided through the check valve 13 and discharged from the outlet of the turbine 14T through the heat exchanger 17 to the outside of the machine. Ram air is introduced into the inlet of the compressor 14 </ b> C, and the outlet communicates with the inlet C <b> 11 of the ACM 4 via the check valve 15.

  Next, the operation of the air conditioner will be described. This air conditioner can generate desired air under all flight conditions and weather conditions by using two types of control methods, normal mode and ram mode. That is, in the normal mode, as shown in FIG. 1, the high-temperature and high-pressure supply air A from the engine bleed air or APU is depressurized by the pressure regulating valve 1 and becomes almost a constant differential pressure from the ambient atmospheric pressure regardless of the flight conditions and weather conditions. It is controlled as follows. The high-temperature and medium-pressure air that has exited the pressure regulating valve 1 enters the primary heat exchanger 2 and undergoes primary heat exchange with the low-temperature and low-pressure ram air to reduce the temperature.

  The flow control valve 3 is controlled so as to supply a substantially constant flow of air, and the air thus controlled is supplied to the compressor 4AC constituting the ACM 4. And it adiabatically compresses with compressor 4AC, raises temperature and pressure, and enters into secondary heat exchanger 5. The reason for raising the temperature and pressure by the compressor 4AC is to efficiently exchange heat with the ram air to produce low-temperature air necessary for air conditioning. The supply air A is heat-exchanged with the ram air in the secondary heat exchanger 5 to reduce the temperature, and drives the turbine 4AT constituting the ACM 4. Energy is lost due to adiabatic expansion work when driving the turbine 4AT, and the air temperature decreases to nearly 5 ° C. The turbine driving axial force is directly transmitted to the compressor 4AC via the shaft 4AS, and the axial force is used for the adiabatic compression of the air-conditioning air described above. The amount of air supplied to the turbine 4AT is controlled by the flow control valve 6.

  The low-temperature and low-pressure air exiting the ACM 4 drives the turbine 10, further reduces the temperature, and enters the water separator 11. The driving shaft force of the turbine 10 is directly transmitted to the fan 8 through the shaft 9, and the ram air is sucked by the fan 8. The water separator 11 condenses and removes moisture contained in the air by centrifugal force. When the outlet air temperature of the turbine 10 is low and moisture in the air may freeze in the condenser back inside the water separator 11, the flow control valve 7 is opened and the outlet air of the turbine 4AT is supplied and maintained at an appropriate temperature. Is done. The low-temperature and low-pressure air from the outlet of the water separator 11 is mixed with the medium- and intermediate-pressure air at the outlet of the secondary heat exchanger 5, and is controlled to a desired air temperature and led to the pressurizing chamber B. 12 is discharged directly to the electronic equipment room or outside the apparatus.

The system operates in ram mode when the flight altitude is high or sufficient high temperature and pressure air cannot be secured due to flight conditions. As shown in FIG. 2, the high-temperature and high-pressure air is controlled to be depressurized by the pressure regulating valve 1 and to have a constant differential pressure from the ambient atmospheric pressure. The high-temperature and medium-pressure air that has exited the pressure regulating valve 1 and the ram air that has been adiabatically compressed by the compressor 14C that constitutes the exhaust turbine mechanism 14 and merged at the inlet C11 of the ACM 4 via the check valve 15 Then, the ACM 4 is adiabatically compressed by the two compressors 4AC and 4BC constituting the ACM 4 so that the temperature is raised and the pressure is raised, and then the secondary heat exchanger 5 is supplied. The driving shaft force of the turbine 4BT is directly transmitted to the compressor 4BC via the shaft 4BS, and the mechanism is the same as the mechanism in which the driving shaft force of the turbine 4AT is directly transmitted to the compressor 4AC via the shaft 4AS.

  In the exhaust turbine mechanism 14, the compressor 14 </ b> C and the turbine 14 </ b> T are directly connected by a shaft 14 </ b> S and rotate integrally. The turbine 14T is driven by pressurized chamber air taken in via the check valve 13, and the driving shaft force of the turbine 14T is directly transmitted to the compressor 14C via the shaft 14S, and obtained by adiabatic expansion of the turbine 14T. The cold heat is recovered by the heat exchanger 17 and released outside the apparatus.

  The flow of conditioned air leaving the secondary heat exchanger 5 is almost the same as in the normal mode. When the driving force of the compressors 4AC and 4BC cannot be obtained by the energy of high-temperature and high-pressure air due to flight conditions such as high altitude flight or low-speed flight, the motors 4AM and 4BM directly connected to the compressors 4AC and 4BC are driven. Make up for the lack of power. When high-temperature air is required for the anti-fogging and anti-icing system, the shutoff valve 16 is opened to supply high-temperature air. The fan 8, the shaft 9, and the turbine 10 may be removed and the outlets of the turbines 4AT and 4BT of the ACM 4 may be directly connected to the inlet of the water separator 11.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a small-sized air cycle type air conditioner that performs high altitude flight.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of an aircraft air conditioner according to the present invention, and is a diagram showing a main air flow system in a normal mode. FIG. 2 is a system diagram of an aircraft air conditioner according to the present invention, showing a main air flow system in a ram mode. It is a systematic diagram which shows the whole air conditioning apparatus of the aircraft employ | adopted conventionally.

Explanation of symbols

A Supply air B Pressurization chamber C Air conditioning part 1 Pressure regulating valve 2 Primary heat exchanger 3 Flow control valve 4 ACM
4C, 4AC, 4BC, 14C Compressor 4T, 4AT, 4BT, 14T Turbine 4S, 4AS, 4BS, 14S Shaft 4AM, 4BM Electric motor 5 Secondary heat exchanger 6, 7 Flow control valve 8 Fan 9 Shaft 10 Turbine 11 Water separation 12 Pressure control valve 13 Check valve 14 Exhaust turbine mechanism 15 Check valve 16 Shut-off valve 17 Heat exchanger 18 Extraction line 19 High-temperature air line 20 Pressurization supply line 21 Flow control valve

Claims (3)

    Turbine directly connected to the compressor via a shaft after heat exchange of the supply air taken from outside the machine and heated to high temperature and pressure with ram air, lowering the air temperature and introducing it to the compressor for adiabatic compression and heat exchange again In an apparatus for air-conditioning an aircraft that includes an air cycle machine that lowers the temperature by adiabatic expansion in the air, and uses the air whose temperature has been lowered for air-conditioning, this shaft is directly connected to the compressor and the turbine. An air conditioner for an aircraft, which is provided with an electric motor capable of rotating and driving.     In an air conditioning system configured to aerially compress ram air from the outside of the compressor and then merge it with high-temperature and high-pressure supply air and lead it to the pressurized chamber, the turbine directly connected to the compressor An air conditioner for an aircraft, comprising a supply system for supplying air in the pressurizing chamber so as to obtain power necessary for intake of the ram air from energy recovered from the pressurizing chamber air.     In an apparatus for air-conditioning an aircraft in which air is flowed by an air cycle machine incorporating an electric motor on a shaft directly connecting a compressor and a turbine, the two air cycle machines are installed in parallel, and from outside the machine An air conditioner for an aircraft, characterized in that a supply system for supplying supply air and ram air, which are taken in at high temperature and pressure, to both air cycle machines is provided, and the supply air and ram air are adiabatically compressed.

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