Aircraft air conditioning system and method of operating an aircraft air conditioning system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9821914-B2
Application number	US-201514636388-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2015
Priority date	Mar 7, 2014
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

An aircraft air conditioning system comprises a process air source and an air conditioning unit being connected to the process air source via a process air line and being adapted to cool and expand process air supplied to the air conditioning unit from the process air source so as to provide conditioned air. A mixing chamber of the aircraft air conditioning system is connected to the air conditioning unit via a conditioned air line and is adapted to mix conditioned air supplied to the mixing chamber from the air conditioning unit with recirculation air recirculated from an aircraft region to be air conditioned to the mixing chamber via a recirculation air line so as to provide mixed air.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aircraft air conditioning system, comprising:
a process air source,
an air conditioning unit being connected to the process air source via a process air line and being adapted to cool and expand process air supplied to the air conditioning unit from the process air source so as to provide conditioned air,
a mixing chamber being connected to the air conditioning unit via a conditioned air line and being adapted to mix conditioned air supplied to the mixing chamber from the air conditioning unit with recirculation air recirculated from an aircraft region to be air conditioned to the mixing chamber via a recirculation air line so as to provide mixed air,
a mixed air line connecting the mixing chamber to the aircraft region to be air conditioned and supplies mixed air provided by the mixing chamber to the aircraft region to be air conditioned,
a supplemental cooling system comprising:
a cooling station that provides cooling energy to a cooling energy consumer installed on board the aircraft, and
a central refrigerating device being thermally coupled to the cooling station via a cooling circuit,

at least one heat exchanger that establishes a thermal coupling between the aircraft air conditioning system and the supplemental cooling system to transfer cooling energy provided by the supplemental cooling system to the aircraft air conditioning system, and
a control unit that controls the operation of the aircraft air conditioning system and the supplemental cooling system in such a manner that the cooling energy provided by the central refrigerating device of the supplemental cooling system is supplied exclusively to the cooling station of the supplemental cooling system until a change in the cooling performance of the supplemental cooling system over a predetermined period of time falls below a predetermined threshold value, and such that at least a part of the cooling energy provided by the central refrigerating device of the supplemental cooling system is allocated to the aircraft air conditioning system when the change in the cooling performance of the supplemental cooling system over a predetermined period of time has fallen below the predetermined threshold value.

2. The aircraft air conditioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat exchanger establishes a thermal coupling between the aircraft air conditioning system and the cooling circuit of the supplemental cooling system, downstream of the cooling station and upstream of the central refrigerating device.

3. The aircraft air conditioning system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one heat exchanger is in the mixed air line, the recirculation air line and/or a connecting line, the connecting line connecting a first aircraft region to be air conditioned to a second aircraft region to be air conditioned and being adapted to supply air discharged from the first aircraft region to be air conditioned to the second aircraft region to be air conditioned.

4. The aircraft air conditioning system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control unit controls the operation of the aircraft air conditioning system and the supplemental cooling system in such a manner that the cooling energy provided by the refrigerating device of the supplemental cooling system is supplied exclusively to the cooling station of the supplemental cooling system until a temperature of the cooling energy consumer supplied with cooling energy by the cooling station has reached a predetermined set temperature, and that at least a part of the cooling energy provided by the refrigerating device of the supplemental cooling system is allocated to the aircraft air conditioning system when the temperature of the cooling energy consumer supplied with cooling energy by the cooling station has reached the predetermined set temperature.

5. The aircraft air conditioning system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control unit controls the operation of the aircraft air conditioning system in dependence on the cooling energy amount supplied to the aircraft air conditioning system from the supplemental cooling system.

6. The aircraft air conditioning system according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one additional heat exchanger is a skin heat exchanger adapted to establish a thermal coupling to ambient air.

7. The aircraft air conditioning system according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one additional heat exchanger establishes a thermal coupling to at least one of a refrigerating device and a heat pump and is arranged in at least one of the conditioned air line and a conditioned air branch line, the conditioned air branch line branching off from the conditioned air line and connecting the conditioned air line to the aircraft region to be air conditioned.

8. A method of operating an aircraft air conditioning system, the method comprising the steps of:
supplying process air from a process air source to an air conditioning unit via a process air line,
cooling and expanding the process air by the air conditioning unit so as to provide conditioned air,
supplying conditioned air from the air conditioning unit to a mixing chamber via a conditioned air line,
mixing the conditioned air supplied to the mixing chamber from the air conditioning unit with recirculation air recirculated from an aircraft region to be air conditioned to the mixing chamber via a recirculation air line so as to provide mixed air,
supplying mixed air from the mixing chamber to the aircraft region to be air conditioned via a mixed air line,
establishing a thermal coupling between the aircraft air conditioning system and a supplemental cooling system by means of at least one heat exchanger, the supplemental cooling system comprising:
a cooling station that provides cooling energy to a cooling energy consumer installed on board the aircraft, and
a central refrigerating device being thermally coupled to the cooling station via a cooling circuit, and

transferring cooling energy provided by the supplemental cooling system to the aircraft air conditioning system via the at least one heat exchanger,
wherein the operation of the aircraft air conditioning system and the supplemental cooling system is controlled in such a manner that the cooling energy provided by the central refrigerating device of the supplemental cooling system is supplied exclusively to the cooling station of the supplemental cooling system until a change in the cooling performance of the supplemental cooling system over a predetermined period of time falls below a predetermined threshold value, and such that at least a part of the cooling energy provided by the central refrigerating device of the supplemental cooling system is allocated to the aircraft air conditioning system when the change in the cooling performance of the supplemental cooling system over a predetermined period of time has fallen below the predetermined threshold value.

9. The method according to claim 8 ,
wherein the at least one heat exchanger establishes a thermal coupling between the aircraft air conditioning system and the cooling circuit of the supplemental cooling system, downstream of the cooling station and upstream of the central refrigerating device.

10. The method according to claim 8 ,
wherein the at least one heat exchanger is arranged in at least one of the mixed air line, the recirculation air line and a connecting line, the connecting line connecting a first aircraft region to be air conditioned to a second aircraft region to be air conditioned and being adapted to supply air discharged from the first aircraft region to be air conditioned to the second aircraft region to be air conditioned.

11. The method accordin

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Klimpel Frank
• Scherer Thomas
• Piesker Markus

Classifications

• Y02T50/56

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B64D13/06 Primary

  the air being conditioned (pressurising B64D13/02) · CPC title

• B64D2013/0688

  with means for recirculating cabin air · CPC title

• Y02T50/50

  On board measures aiming to increase energy efficiency · CPC title