Oxygen sensor protection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10286353-B2
Application number	US-201816015432-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 22, 2018
Priority date	Jul 14, 2015
Publication date	May 14, 2019
Grant date	May 14, 2019

Abstract

An air separation system includes an air separation module configured to receive feed air and separate the feed air into nitrogen-enriched air and oxygen-enriched air, a nitrogen-enriched air line for transporting the nitrogen-enriched air from the air separation module to a fuel tank for inerting, an oxygen sensing line connected to the nitrogen-enriched air line, a gas adsorption filter located in the oxygen sensing line, and an oxygen sensor downstream of the gas adsorption filter in the oxygen sensing line.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of producing inert gas comprising:
separating feed air into nitrogen-enriched air and oxygen-enriched air in an air separation module;
flowing the nitrogen-enriched air from the air separation module down a nitrogen-enriched air line towards a fuel tank for inerting;
funneling a portion of the nitrogen-enriched air from the nitrogen-enriched air line through an oxygen sensing line to an oxygen sensor;
removing siloxane compounds from the portion of nitrogen-enriched air in the oxygen sensing line upstream of the oxygen sensor;
detecting a concentration of oxygen in the portion of the nitrogen-enriched air with the oxygen sensor; and
returning the portion of the nitrogen-enriched air back to the nitrogen-enriched air line.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing siloxane compounds comprises filtering the portion of nitrogen-enriched air with a gas adsorption filter in the oxygen sensing line.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein filtering with a gas adsorption filter comprises removing siloxane compound with a sorbent containing activated carbon.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein filtering the portion of nitrogen-enriched air includes flowing the portion of nitrogen-enriched air through a packed bed with activated carbon pellets.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the oxygen sensing line is coated with activated carbon such that the portion of nitrogen-enriched air is gas adsorption filtered by the activated carbon when the portion of nitrogen-enriched air flows through the oxygen sensing line.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the gas adsorption filter is removable from the oxygen sensing line.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the gas adsorption filter is integral to the oxygen sensor.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein filtering the portion of nitrogen-enriched air and detecting a concentration of oxygen are done simultaneously.

9. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising transporting the portion of the nitrogen-enriched air to the fuel tank of the aircraft for inerting after the concentration of oxygen is sensed in the portion of the nitrogen-enriched air.

10. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising rejecting the oxygen-enriched air overboard the aircraft.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the oxygen sensing line is on the nitrogen-enriched air line.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the oxygen sensor is on the oxygen sensing line.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Thibaud Catherine

Classifications

• B01D53/22

  by diffusion (manufacturing semi-permeable membranes B01D67/00; form, structure or properties of semi-permeable membranes B01D69/00; material for semi-permeable membranes B01D71/00) · CPC title

• B01D2253/102

  Carbon · CPC title

• G01N33/0014

  by eliminating a gas (by a chemical reaction G01N33/0013; a chemical reaction taking place or a gas being eliminated in one or more analysing channels G01N33/0024) · CPC title

• B01D53/0446

  Means for feeding or distributing gases · CPC title

• B01D53/30

  Controlling by gas-analysis apparatus (regulating non electrical variables in general G05D) · CPC title