Aircraft with wheel well between heat exchangers of engine assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10858115-B2
Application number	US-201815898732-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2018
Priority date	Feb 19, 2018
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

An assembly for an aircraft having a propeller, including a wheel well for a retracted landing gear, first and second cooling ducts; and an engine assembly having an engine shaft configured for driving engagement with the propeller, the engine assembly including a coolant circulation system for circulation of a liquid coolant, a lubricant circulation system for circulation of a lubricant, a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with at least the coolant circulation system, and a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with at least the lubricant circulation system. Each heat exchanger is positioned and configured for receiving a cooling airflow from the respective cooling duct. The wheel well is located between the heat exchangers. A method of cooling a lubricant and a liquid coolant of an engine assembly is also discussed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An assembly for an aircraft having a propeller, the assembly comprising:
a nose nacelle;
a wheel well integrated to said nose nacelle and configured for receiving a retracted landing gear;
first and second cooling ducts integrated to said nose nacelle; and
an engine assembly having an engine shaft configured for driving engagement with the propeller, the engine assembly including a coolant circulation system for circulation of a liquid coolant, a lubricant circulation system for circulation of a lubricant, a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with at least the coolant circulation system, and a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with at least the lubricant circulation system, the first heat exchanger positioned and configured for receiving a first cooling airflow from the first cooling duct, and the second heat exchanger positioned and configured for receiving a second cooling airflow from the second cooling duct, the wheel well located between the first and second heat exchangers, the first and second heat exchangers mounted in the nose nacelle on opposed sides of the wheel well.

2. The assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first heat exchanger is received in the first cooling duct and the second heat exchanger is received in the second cooling duct.

3. The assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the coolant circulation system without being in fluid communication with the lubricant circulation system, and the second heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the lubricant circulation system without being in fluid communication with the coolant circulation system.

4. The assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first and second heat exchangers define a rearmost portion of the engine assembly.

5. The assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first and second cooling ducts each have a front inlet in direct fluid communication with an environment of the aircraft, the front inlet of the first and second cooling ducts configured to be located adjacent to and downstream of the propeller when the propeller is drivingly engaged to the engine assembly.

6. The assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the engine assembly includes an intermittent internal combustion engine drivingly engaged to the engine shaft, the intermittent internal combustion engine fluidly connected to the coolant circulation system.

7. The assembly as defined in claim 6 , wherein the intermittent internal combustion engine includes at least one Wankel rotary engine.

8. The assembly as defined in claim 6 , wherein the engine assembly includes a compressor having an outlet in fluid communication with an intake of the intermittent internal combustion engine and a turbine having an inlet in fluid communication with an exhaust of the intermittent internal combustion engine, the turbine including a turbine shaft configured to compound power with the engine shaft.

9. The assembly as defined in claim 8 , wherein an inlet of the compressor is in fluid communication with an environment of the aircraft via an inlet conduit independently of the first and second cooling ducts.

10. The assembly as defined in claim 8 , wherein the first and second heat exchangers are located aft of the intermittent internal combustion engine, compressor and turbine.

11. The assembly as defined in claim 8 , wherein the engine shaft is drivingly engaged to the turbine shaft via a compounding gearbox fluidly connected to the lubricant circulation system.

12. The assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first and second cooling ducts each includes a diffusing portion and a nozzle portion, the first and second heat exchangers located downstream of the diffusing portion and upstream of the nozzle portion of a respective one of the first and second cooling ducts, wherein along a direction of the first and second cooling airflows, the first and second cooling ducts have a progressively increasing cross-sectional area in the diffusing portion and a progressively reducing cross-sectional area in the nozzle portion.

13. An assembly for an aircraft having a propeller, the assembly comprising:
a nose nacelle;
a wheel well defined in the nose nacelle and configured for receiving a retracted landing gear;
first and second cooling ducts integrated to the nose nacelle and in fluid communication with an environment of the aircraft; and
an engine assembly received in the nose nacelle and including:
a rotary internal combustion engine in driving engagement with an engine shaft, the engine shaft configured for driving engagement with the propeller, the rotary internal combustion engine configured for circulation of a liquid coolant therethrough,
a turbine having an inlet in fluid communication with an exhaust of the rotary internal combustion engine, the turbine including a turbine shaft configured to compound power with the engine shaft,
a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with the rotary internal combustion engine for circulation of the liquid coolant therethrough, the first heat exchanger positioned and configured for receiving a first cooling airflow from the first cooling duct for cooling the liquid coolant, and
a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with a lubricant circulation system of the engine assembly, the second heat exchanger positioned and configured for receiving a second cooling airflow from the second cooling duct for cooling the lubricant, the wheel well located between the first and second heat exchangers, the first and second heat exchangers mounted in the nose nacelle on opposed sides of the wheel well.

14. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the assembly is a nose assembly for a front end of the aircraft, the propeller is a nose propeller, and the landing gear is a nose landing gear.

15. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the first heat exchanger is received in the first cooling duct and the second heat exchanger is received in the second cooling duct.

16. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the engine assembly includes a reduction gearbox drivingly engaged to the engine shaft and configured to define the driving engagement between the engine shaft and the propeller, and wherein the first and second cooling ducts each have a front inlet in direct fluid communication with the environment of the aircraft, the reduction gearbox located adjacent to and between the front inlet of the first cooling duct and the front inlet of the second cooling duct.

17. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the engine assembly includes a compressor having an outlet in fluid communication with an intake of the rotary internal combustion engine.

18. The assembly as defined in claim 17 , wherein an inlet of the compressor is in fluid communication with the environment of the aircraft via an inlet conduit independently of the first and second cooling ducts.

19. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the first and second heat exchangers are located aft of the rotary internal combustion engine and turbine.

20. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the rotary internal combustion engine and turbine are located between the first and second cooling ducts.

21. The assembly as defined in claim 13 , wherein the first and second cooling ducts each includes a diffusing portion and a nozzle portion, the first and second heat exchangers located downstream of the diffusing portion and upstream of the nozzle por

Assignees

• Pratt & Whitney Canada

Inventors

• Dionne Luc
• Villeneuve Bruno
• Thomassin Jean

Classifications

• B64D33/10 Primary

  Radiator arrangement · CPC title

• B64C1/0683

  Nose cones · CPC title

• B64D2033/024

  comprising cooling means · CPC title

• F01P7/023

  Cowlings for airplane engines · CPC title

• F02B41/10

  in exhaust turbines (use of exhaust turbines for charging F02B37/00) · CPC title