An EMU cooling device, an aero-engine fuel system, and an aero-engine

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an EMU cooling device, an aero-engine fuel system, and an aero-engine. The EMU cooling device includes: a housing; EMU electronic components disposed inside the housing; and at least one heat exchange oil circuit hermetically disposed inside the housing and configured to carry away the heat generated by the EMU electronic components through the cooling oil flowing through itself. Wherein, the oil inlet and the oil outlet of the heat exchange oil circuit are respectively disposed on two opposite side walls of the housing. In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure can cool the working EMU and increase the temperature of the fuel, thereby on the one hand reducing the probability of failure caused by EMU overheating and improving the reliability of the EMU, and on the other hand increasing the fuel temperature, thereby improving the combustion efficiency of the engine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of aircraft engine manufacturing, and in particular to an EMU cooling device, an aircraft engine fuel system and an aircraft engine. Background Art

[0002] Due to the complex structure of aircraft engines, mechanical failures are often difficult to detect during early operation, which can easily cause safety hazards. In response to this, engineers set up an engine monitoring unit (EMU) in new engines to complete data analysis, fault alarms, and data and fault recording with a high-performance embedded computer. The data recorded by the EMU can be downloaded to ground equipment to provide a more in-depth analysis of the engine's health status, making maintenance and troubleshooting more timely and fault location more accurate.

[0003] As an electronic working device, EMU will generate a lot of heat due to the electrothermal effect during operation, which will increase its own temperature and reduce the working reliability and life of EMU. At present, EMU has not considered cooling, which leads to reduced working reliability of EMU. The temperature of the fuel in the fuel tank of the aircraft engine is relatively low in the air, and the unheated fuel sprayed into the combustion chamber is also prone to reduced combustion efficiency due to incomplete combustion. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an EMU cooling device, an aircraft engine fuel system and an aircraft engine, which can cool the EMU in operation and increase the temperature of the fuel, thereby reducing the possibility of failure caused by EMU overheating and improving the reliability of the EMU on the one hand, and increasing the fuel temperature on the other hand, thereby improving the combustion efficiency of the engine.

[0005] In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an EMU cooling device, comprising:

[0006] case;

[0007] EMU electronic components are disposed inside the housing; and

[0008] At least one heat exchange oil circuit, sealed and disposed inside the housing, and configured to remove heat generated by the EMU electronic components by cooling oil flowing through the circuit;

[0009] Wherein, the oil inlet and the oil outlet of the heat exchange oil circuit are respectively arranged on two opposite side walls of the shell.

[0010] In some embodiments, the housing has a prism structure, the height of the prism structure is less than the side length of its bottom surface, the cross-sectional shape of the heat exchange oil circuit is a flat rectangle, and the shorter side of the flat rectangle is parallel to the height direction of the prism structure.

[0011] In some embodiments, the at least one heat exchange oil circuit includes one heat exchange oil circuit, the heat exchange oil circuit is disposed in the middle of the housing in the height direction, divides the housing into upper and lower regions, and the EMU electronic components located in the upper and lower regions of the housing are respectively located on both sides of the heat exchange oil circuit.

[0012] In some embodiments, the EMU electronic components located in the upper and lower regions of the housing are respectively attached to the upper and lower wall surfaces of the heat exchange oil circuit.

[0013] In some embodiments, the housing has a quadrangular prism structure, and the cooling device further includes:

[0014] Four connecting seat assemblies, which are respectively and fixedly arranged at both ends of two opposite side walls of the housing in pairs, so as to realize the relative fixation of the housing and the fan casing of the aeroengine;

[0015] Wherein, among the four side walls of the housing, the two side walls where the connecting seat assemblies are located are the same as the two side walls where the oil inlet and the oil outlet are located.

[0016] In some embodiments, the connecting seat assembly includes:

[0017] A first seat body, having a right-angled triangular prism structure, and is attached to the housing through the side surface where one right-angled side of its bottom surface is located;

[0018] A second seat body, having a cylindrical structure, and is fixedly arranged on the fan casing through a flange fixedly arranged on the bottom surface of the cylindrical structure; and

[0019] An intermediate connecting member, which is arranged between the first seat body and the second seat body, and is connected to the side surface where the other right-angled side of the bottom surface of the second seat body is located.

[0020] In some embodiments, the intermediate connecting member is elastically connected to the second seat body, and a damping structure is further provided between the intermediate connecting member and the second seat body to absorb the energy of the elastic connection.

[0021] In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aeroengine fuel system, including:

[0022] The EMU cooling device as described in any one of the previous embodiments;

[0023] A fuel tank, connected to the oil inlet of the heat exchange oil circuit in the EMU cooling device; and

[0024] A combustion chamber, connected to the oil outlet of the heat exchange oil circuit in the EMU cooling device;

[0025] Wherein, the cooling oil flowing through the heat exchange oil circuit in the EMU cooling device is fuel oil.

[0026] In some embodiments, the fuel system further includes:

[0027] A fuel-oil cooler, connected between the EMU cooling device and the combustion chamber through an internal fuel flow path, and further provided with an oil flow path inside. The fuel flow path and the oil flow path are close to each other and not connected to each other, so that the fuel in the fuel flow path and the oil in the oil flow path exchange heat independently of each other.

[0028] In some embodiments, the fuel system further includes:

[0029] A boost pump, connected between the outlet of the fuel tank and the inlet of the fuel flow path of the fuel-oil cooler, for pressurizing the fuel;

[0030] A fuel filter, arranged at the outlet of the fuel flow path of the fuel-oil cooler, for filtering impurities in the fuel; and

[0031] A high-pressure gear pump, connected between the fuel filter and the combustion chamber, for pumping the fuel filtered by the fuel filter to the combustion chamber.

[0032] In some embodiments, the fuel system further includes:

[0033] An adjustable throttle valve, arranged between the outlet of the high-pressure gear pump and the combustion chamber, for controlling the pumping flow rate of the high-pressure gear pump to the combustion chamber; and

[0034] A pressure drop control valve, configured to adjust the flow rate of the overflow oil circuit flowing back from the adjustable throttle valve to the inlet of the EMU cooling device based on the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the adjustable throttle valve.

[0035] In another aspect of the present disclosure, an aeroengine is provided, including the EMU cooling device as described in any of the previous embodiments.

[0036] Therefore, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to cool the working EMU and increase the temperature of the fuel oil. Thus, on the one hand, the possibility of failure caused by EMU overheating is reduced, and the reliability of the EMU is improved; on the other hand, the fuel oil temperature is increased, thereby improving the combustion efficiency of the engine. Description of the Drawings

[0037] The accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the specification, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0038] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure can be more clearly understood according to the following detailed description, wherein:

[0039] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the EMU cooling device from the front view angle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 2 is a schematic three-dimensional structural diagram of the EMU cooling device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an aero-engine fuel system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] In the figure:

[0043] 1, housing; 2, EMU electronic components; 3, heat exchange oil circuit; 31, oil inlet; 32, oil outlet; 4, connection seat assembly; 41, first seat body; 42, second seat body; 43, intermediate connector; 5, EMU cooling device; 6, fuel tank; 7, combustion chamber; 8, fuel-oil heat exchanger; 9, boost pump; 10, fuel filter; 11, high-pressure gear pump; 12, adjustable throttle valve; 13, pressure drop control valve; A, fuel; a, fuel overflow; B, lubricating oil.

[0044] It should be understood that the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn in actual proportional relationship. In addition, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar components. Detailed Embodiments

[0045] Now, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description of the exemplary embodiments is merely illustrative and in no way limits the present disclosure or its application or use. The present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that: unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of the components and steps, the components of the materials, the numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments should be construed as merely exemplary and not as limitations.

[0046] As used in this disclosure, terms such as "first", "second" and the like do not denote any order, quantity or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Words such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the elements before such word cover the elements listed after such word, and do not exclude the possibility of also covering other elements. Terms such as "upper", "lower", "left" and "right" are only used to indicate relative positional relationships, and when the absolute position of the object being described changes, such relative positional relationships may also change accordingly.

[0047] In this disclosure, when it is described that a specific device is located between a first device and a second device, there may or may not be an intermediate device between the specific device and the first device or the second device. When it is described that a specific device is connected to other devices, the specific device may be directly connected to the other devices without an intermediate device, or may not be directly connected to the other devices and have an intermediate device.

[0048] All terms used in this disclosure (including technical terms or scientific terms) have the same meaning as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains, unless otherwise specifically defined. It should also be understood that terms defined in general dictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless specifically defined as such here.

[0049] Technologies, methods and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such technologies, methods and devices should be regarded as part of the specification.

[0050] As Figures 1 to 3 shown, in one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided an EMU cooling device 5, comprising:

[0051] a housing 1;

[0052] EMU electronic components 2, disposed inside the housing 1; and

[0053] at least one heat exchange oil circuit 3, hermetically disposed inside the housing 1, configured to carry away the heat generated by the EMU electronic components 2 through the cooling oil flowing through itself;

[0054] wherein, an oil inlet 31 and an oil outlet 32 of the heat exchange oil circuit 3 are respectively disposed on two opposite side walls of the housing 1.

[0055] Thus, by allowing the low-temperature cooling oil to flow through the heat exchange oil circuit 3, the heat generated by the EMU electronic components 2 inside the housing 1 is carried away, thereby cooling the EMU. The cooling oil here can be fuel oil, lubricating oil, or an oil with a higher specific heat, such as Freon, to enhance the heat exchange effect.

[0056] The heat exchange oil circuit 3 inside the housing 1 can be set to one. However, in order to enhance the heat exchange effect and without affecting the layout of the EMU electronic components 2 inside the housing 1, the heat exchange oil circuit 3 inside the housing 1 can also be multiple. At this time, multiple heat exchange oil circuits 3 can share the same fuel inlet and fuel outlet to reduce the manufacturing difficulty and sealing difficulty; or they can each have their own fuel inlet and fuel outlet to precisely control the flow rate of the cooling oil fluid in each heat exchange oil circuit 3.

[0057] Such as Figure 1 shown, in some embodiments, the housing 1 has a prism structure, the height of the prism structure is less than the side length of its bottom surface, the cross-sectional shape of the heat exchange oil circuit 3 is a flat rectangle, and the shorter side of the flat rectangle is parallel to the height direction of the prism structure.

[0058] The heat exchange oil circuit 3 with a cross-sectional shape of a flat rectangle can expand the area of its upper and lower wall surfaces as much as possible, thereby expanding the contact area between the cooling oil fluid and the EMU electronic components 2 inside the housing 1, and thus increasing the heat transfer coefficient. On the other hand, the heat exchange oil circuit 3 in the shape of a flat rectangle can also reduce the flow rate of the cooling oil fluid flowing through itself with a smaller cross-sectional area, so that the heat exchange of the cooling oil fluid is more sufficient.

[0059] In some embodiments, when the number of heat exchange oil circuits 3 is one, in order to enhance the heat exchange effect, the heat exchange oil circuit 3 is arranged in the middle of the housing 1 along the height direction, and the housing 1 is divided into upper and lower two regions, and the EMU electronic components 2 located in the upper and lower two regions of the housing 1 are respectively located on both sides of the heat exchange oil circuit 3, so as to simultaneously use the upper and lower wall surfaces of the heat exchange oil circuit 3 for heat conduction and improve the heat exchange efficiency with the largest contact area.

[0060] In order to further reduce the thermal resistance between the EMU electronic components 2 and the heat exchange oil circuit 3, in some embodiments, the EMU electronic components 2 located in the upper and lower two regions of the housing 1 are respectively attached to the upper and lower two wall surfaces of the heat exchange oil circuit 3.

[0061] Thus, the wall surface of the heat exchange oil circuit 3 will serve as the only intermediate medium between the cooling oil fluid and the EMU electronic components 2 to help the two conduct heat, and there will no longer be an air layer or other structures affecting the contact thermal resistance between the cooling oil fluid and the EMU electronic components 2.

[0062] Such as Figure 2 shown, in some embodiments, the housing 1 has a quadrangular prism structure, and the cooling device further includes:

[0063] Four connecting seat assemblies 4, which are respectively and fixedly arranged at both ends of two opposite side walls of the housing 1 in pairs, so as to realize the relative fixation of the housing 1 and the aeroengine fan casing;

[0064] Among them, among the four side walls of the housing 1, the two side walls where the connection seat assembly 4 is located are the same as the two side walls where the oil inlet 31 and the oil outlet 32 are located.

[0065] Since the connection seat assembly 4 and the oil inlet 31 and the oil outlet 32 are on the same pair of wall surfaces, the assembly of the connection seat assembly 4 and the connection of the oil inlet 31 and the oil outlet 32 can be carried out in the same plane, reducing the difficulty of their common adaptation. And there are neither connection structures nor conduction structures on the other pair of opposite side surfaces of the housing 1, which can reduce the interference to the peripheral accessory structures of the EMU cooling device 5 and reduce the difficulty of setting the fuel and lubricating oil accessories on the casing of the aero-engine to a certain extent.

[0066] In some embodiments, the connection seat assembly 4 includes:

[0067] The first seat body 41 has a right-angled triangular prism structure and is attached to the housing 1 through the side surface where a right-angled side of its bottom surface is located;

[0068] The second seat body 42 has a cylindrical structure and is fixedly arranged on the fan casing through a flange fixedly arranged on the bottom surface of the cylindrical structure; and

[0069] The intermediate connecting piece 43 is arranged between the first seat body 41 and the second seat body 42 and is connected to the side surface where the other right-angled side of the bottom surface of the second seat body 42 is located.

[0070] In order to reduce the influence of the vibration of the aero-engine itself on the EMU electronic components 2, in some embodiments, the intermediate connecting piece 43 and the second seat body 42 are elastically connected, and a damping structure is also provided between the intermediate connecting piece 43 and the second seat body 42 to absorb the energy of the elastic connection.

[0071] In another aspect of the present disclosure, an aero-engine fuel system is provided, including:

[0072] The EMU cooling device 5 as in any of the previous embodiments;

[0073] The fuel tank 6 is communicated with the oil inlet 31 of the heat exchange oil circuit 3 in the EMU cooling device 5; and

[0074] The combustion chamber 7 is communicated with the oil outlet 32 of the heat exchange oil circuit 3 in the EMU cooling device 5;

[0075] Among them, the cooling oil flowing through the heat exchange oil circuit 3 in the EMU cooling device 5 is fuel.

[0076] Thus, the problems of EMU cooling and fuel temperature rise in the aero-engine are solved simultaneously: in some embodiments, the operating temperature of the EMU electronic components 2 is between 40 and 60 °C. After being cooled by the fuel in the EMU cooling device 5, the temperature of the EMU electronic components 2 can be reduced by 15 to 25 °C, while the fuel can be increased by 5 to 20 °C.

[0077] It can be seen that the EMU cooling device 5 provided in the aero-engine fuel system can, on the one hand, reduce the operating temperature of the EMU electronic components 2 so that they always operate within a reasonable temperature range, and on the other hand, increase the fuel temperature flowing out of the fuel tank 6, raising its temperature from 0 to 20 °C in the high-altitude state, thereby improving the combustion effect of the fuel and the thermal efficiency of the aero-engine.

[0078] Of course, in some embodiments, the temperature of the EMU electronic components 2 can also be monitored, and the fuel flow rate flowing through the EMU cooling device 5 can be controlled based on this temperature, so as to maintain the operating temperature of the EMU electronic components 2 within a reasonable range. In this embodiment, at least part of the fuel from the fuel tank 6 to the combustion chamber 7 is introduced into the EMU cooling device 5, while other parts of the fuel do not pass through the EMU cooling device 5 or can enter the EMU cooling device 5 controllably in a certain proportion.

[0079] In order to further increase the fuel temperature entering the combustion chamber 7, in some embodiments, the fuel system further includes:

[0080] A fuel-oil heat exchanger 8, which is connected between the EMU cooling device 5 and the combustion chamber 7 through an internal fuel flow path, and also has an oil flow path inside. The fuel flow path and the oil flow path are close to each other and do not communicate with each other, so that the fuel in the fuel flow path and the oil in the oil flow path exchange heat independently of each other.

[0081] In order to meet the requirements of the fuel pressure, flow rate and impurity content entering the combustion chamber 7, in some embodiments, the fuel system further includes:

[0082] A boost pump 9, which is connected between the outlet of the fuel tank 6 and the inlet of the fuel flow path of the fuel-oil heat exchanger 8, and is used to pressurize the fuel;

[0083] A fuel filter 10, which is arranged at the outlet of the fuel flow path of the fuel-oil heat exchanger 8, and is used to filter impurities in the fuel; and

[0084] A high-pressure gear pump 11, which is connected between the fuel filter 10 and the combustion chamber 7, and is used to pump the fuel filtered by the fuel filter 10 to the combustion chamber 7.

[0085] In some embodiments, the fuel system further includes:

[0086] An adjustable throttle valve 12 is provided between the outlet of the high-pressure gear pump 11 and the combustion chamber 7 for controlling the pumping flow rate of the high-pressure gear pump 11 to the combustion chamber 7; and

[0087] A pressure drop control valve is configured to adjust the flow rate of the overflow oil circuit that returns from the adjustable throttle valve 12 to the inlet of the EMU cooling device 5 based on the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the adjustable throttle valve 12.

[0088] In another aspect of the present disclosure, an aeroengine is provided, including the EMU cooling device 5 as in any of the previous embodiments.

[0089] Therefore, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to cool the working EMU and increase the temperature of the fuel. Thus, on the one hand, the probability of failure caused by EMU overheating is reduced, and the reliability of the EMU is improved. On the other hand, the fuel temperature is increased, thereby improving the combustion efficiency of the engine.

[0090] So far, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. To avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, some details well known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0091] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are only for illustration and not for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified or some technical features can be equivalently replaced without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An EMU cooling device (5), characterized in that, it includes: a housing (1), having a quadrangular prism structure; EMU electronic components (2), disposed inside the housing (1); and at least one heat exchange oil circuit (3), hermetically disposed inside the housing (1), configured to carry away the heat generated by the EMU electronic components (2) through the cooling oil flowing through itself; wherein, an oil inlet (31) and an oil outlet (32) of the heat exchange oil circuit (3) are respectively disposed on two opposite side walls of the housing (1); the EMU cooling device further includes four connecting seat assemblies (4), which are respectively fixedly disposed at both ends of two opposite side walls of the housing (1) in pairs, for realizing the relative fixation of the housing (1) and the aeroengine fan casing. Among the four side walls of the housing (1), the two side walls where the connecting seat assemblies (4) are located are the same as the two side walls where the oil inlet (31) and the oil outlet (32) are located; wherein, the connecting seat assembly (4) includes: a first seat body (41), having a right triangular prism structure, and being attached to the housing (1) through a side surface where a right angle side of its bottom surface is located; a second seat body (42), having a cylindrical structure, and being fixedly disposed on the fan casing through a flange fixedly disposed on the bottom surface of the cylindrical structure; and an intermediate connecting member (43), disposed between the first seat body (41) and the second seat body (42), and connected to a side surface where the other right angle side of the bottom surface of the second seat body (42) is located.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the housing (1) has a polygonal prism structure, the height of the polygonal prism structure is less than the side length of its bottom surface, the cross-sectional shape of the heat exchange oil circuit (3) is a flat rectangle, and the shorter side of the flat rectangle is parallel to the height direction of the polygonal prism structure.

3. The cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the at least one heat exchange oil circuit (3) includes one heat exchange oil circuit (3), the heat exchange oil circuit (3) is disposed in the middle of the housing (1) along the height direction, and divides the housing (1) into upper and lower two regions, and the EMU electronic components (2) located in the upper and lower two regions of the housing (1) are respectively located on both sides of the heat exchange oil circuit (3).

4. The cooling device according to claim 3, characterized in that, the EMU electronic components (2) located in the upper and lower two regions of the housing (1) are respectively attached to the upper and lower two wall surfaces of the heat exchange oil circuit (3).

5. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the intermediate connecting member (43) is elastically connected to the second seat body (42), and a damping structure is further provided between the intermediate connecting member (43) and the second seat body (42) for absorbing the energy of the elastic connection.

6. An aeroengine fuel system, characterized in that, it includes: the EMU cooling device (5) according to any one of claims 1 to 5; Fuel tank (6), connected to the oil inlet (31) of the heat exchange oil circuit (3) in the EMU cooling device (5); and Combustion chamber (7), connected to the oil outlet (32) of the heat exchange oil circuit (3) in the EMU cooling device (5); wherein the cooling oil flowing through the heat exchange oil circuit (3) in the EMU cooling device (5) is fuel oil.

7. The fuel system according to claim 6, characterized in that it further comprises: A fuel-oil cooler (8), connected between the EMU cooling device (5) and the combustion chamber (7) through an internal fuel flow path, and an oil flow path is also provided inside. The fuel flow path and the oil flow path are close to each other and not connected to each other, so that the fuel in the fuel flow path and the oil in the oil flow path exchange heat independently of each other.

8. The fuel system according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises: A boost pump (9), connected between the outlet of the fuel tank (6) and the inlet of the fuel flow path of the fuel-oil cooler (8), for pressurizing the fuel; A fuel filter (10), arranged at the outlet of the fuel flow path of the fuel-oil cooler (8), for filtering impurities in the fuel; and A high-pressure gear pump (11), connected between the fuel filter (10) and the combustion chamber (7), for pumping the fuel filtered by the fuel filter (10) to the combustion chamber (7).

9. The fuel system according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises: An adjustable throttle valve (12), arranged between the outlet of the high-pressure gear pump (11) and the combustion chamber (7), for controlling the pumping flow rate of the high-pressure gear pump (11) to the combustion chamber (7); and A pressure drop control valve, configured to adjust the flow rate of the overflow oil circuit flowing back from the adjustable throttle valve (12) to the inlet of the EMU cooling device (5) based on the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the adjustable throttle valve (12).

10. An aeroengine, characterized in that it comprises the EMU cooling device (5) according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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