A tiltrotor aircraft thermal management system

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of tilting rotor aircraft thermal management systems, it is related to aircraft technical field.The system includes: cooling part, wing heat exchange part and cabin environmental control part, each part is communicated by cooling circuit, cooling circuit includes main circuit and branch circuit, main circuit connects cooling part and wing heat exchange part, branch circuit connects cabin environmental control part, main circuit and branch circuit are cooled to the equipment needing cooling using liquid cooling mode, using liquid cooling medium as heat transfer medium, provides cooling control for the equipment needing cooling.The application can realize the interaction and fusion of tilting rotor aircraft airborne cooling system, wing ice protection system, cabin environmental control system, so as to realize the multiple functions of airborne equipment cooling, wing ice protection and cabin temperature management, simplify tilting rotor aircraft equipment type and system, reduce the overall weight.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of aircraft, in particular to a thermal management system of a tilt-rotor aircraft. BACKGROUND

[0002] The electric tilt-rotor aircraft is a new type of aircraft, which is quite different from the traditional aircraft. The main difference is that it uses electricity as the main energy form, and the battery is used as the main power supply to provide power for the whole aircraft. During operation, the motor and the battery will generate heat, and if the heat of these devices cannot be discharged, the temperature of these devices will rise, affecting the normal operation of the devices. Therefore, measures need to be taken to cool these devices. The traditional cooling scheme cools the heat-generating devices through air cooling or liquid cooling, and the cooling medium absorbs heat and directly discharges the heat to the external environment.

[0003] During the operation of the aircraft, when the ambient temperature is too low and there are supercooled water droplets in the environment, the surface of the wing has the risk of icing, which will affect the aerodynamic performance of the wing and affect the safety of flight. Therefore, measures need to be taken to prevent the surface of the fuselage from icing. For traditional aircraft, the traditional anti-icing system realizes the wing anti-icing function by introducing high-temperature hot gas from the turbine engine or electric heating or spraying anti-icing liquid.

[0004] During the operation of the tilt-rotor aircraft, it is necessary to maintain a suitable environment for the activities of the on-board personnel, and therefore environmental control means are needed to control the temperature of the cabin so that the cabin temperature is maintained within a range suitable for personnel activities. The traditional temperature control system uses an air conditioner compressor to control the temperature of the cabin.

[0005] In the traditional aircraft, the cooling system, the anti-icing system and the environmental control system are three independent systems, the heat of the on-board devices is discharged to the external environment through the form of fan + radiator, the anti-icing is realized by introducing anti-icing or increasing electric heating film, and the cabin temperature control is realized by the air conditioning system. There is no heat exchange between the three systems, resulting in the direct loss of the heat of the cooling system to the environment and the inability to utilize it, resulting in a great waste of energy. And each function needs a separate system, and the three systems increase the complexity of the whole aircraft and also increase the weight of the whole machine.

[0006] And the traditional aircraft realizes wing anti-icing by introducing high-temperature hot gas from the turbine engine, and the electric tilt-rotor aircraft cannot introduce high-temperature hot gas for anti-icing because it has no turbine engine. The only way to realize the wing anti-icing function is through electric heating or spraying anti-freezing liquid, which increases the weight and energy consumption of the whole machine, and there are great difficulties in the design of the anti-icing system. SUMMARY

[0007] The technical scheme adopted by the present application is: a tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system, comprising a cooling part, a wing heat exchange part and a cabin environmental control part, each part being connected through a cooling circuit, the cooling circuit comprising a main circuit and a branch circuit, the main circuit connecting the cooling part and the wing heat exchange part, and the branch circuit connecting the cabin environmental control part, the main circuit and the branch circuit using liquid cooling to cool the equipment needing cooling, using liquid cooling medium as heat transfer medium to provide cooling control for the equipment needing cooling.

[0008] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein the cooling part comprises heat generating equipment, a main water pump and a liquid storage tank, the heat generating equipment being connected to the main water pump, and the main water pump being connected to the liquid storage tank.

[0009] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein the heat generating equipment comprises a motor controller, an onboard motor and an onboard battery, each heat generating equipment being connected to the main water pump, and each heat generating equipment being connected to the main circuit in parallel and cooled by the same set of liquid cooling system.

[0010] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein each heat generating equipment is provided with a separate control valve, and each heat generating equipment can calculate the required cooling flow according to the heat generating equipment temperature and the cooling liquid temperature, and control the flow of cooling liquid entering the heat generating equipment by controlling the valve opening degree of the control valve.

[0011] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein the liquid storage tank is arranged at the highest position of the whole system, and a pressure relief vent valve is arranged on the liquid storage tank to discharge gas, control system pressure and maintain cooling liquid flow, and the low-temperature liquid flowing out of the liquid storage tank flows into each heat generating equipment needing cooling through a shunt pipe.

[0012] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein the wing heat exchanger adopts a box-shaped hollow structure, a flow channel for cooling medium flow and a fin or needle rib structure for strengthening heat exchange and improving strength are arranged in the internal hollow structure; the wing heat exchanger is externally provided with an airfoil-shaped surface, and pipe joints for connecting pipelines are arranged at both ends to be connected with external pipelines, and after the high-temperature cooling liquid enters the wing heat exchanger, the heat is discharged to the external environment to become low-temperature liquid, thereby playing a role of heat exchange and wing ice prevention.

[0013] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein an electric heater is arranged in front of the wing heat exchanger, and if the cooling liquid temperature is insufficient to meet the ice prevention requirement, the electric heater is turned on to increase the cooling liquid temperature so that the temperature can meet the ice prevention requirement.

[0014] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein the cabin environmental control part comprises a cabin heat exchanger, an electromagnetic three-way valve and a secondary water pump, the cabin heat exchanger is connected to the secondary water pump through the electromagnetic three-way valve for control. The cabin heat exchanger is arranged on the inner surface of the cabin, and can exchange heat between the internal fluid and the cabin environment, so as to realize heat exchange between the cabin environment and the internal fluid of the heat exchanger; the secondary water pump is connected with a plurality of electromagnetic three-way valves, which can switch the flow direction of the branch circuit cooling liquid.

[0015] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein the cabin is additionally provided with an air conditioning device, and the cabin environment temperature control is realized through auxiliary control of the cabin temperature by the air conditioning device.

[0016] The tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system as described above, wherein temperature sensors are arranged at each part of the circuit, including temperature sensors arranged on each device and temperature sensors connected to each pipeline, which measure the temperature of the cooling liquid in the circuit and the temperature of each device, and the system compares the temperature of the cabin interior and the branch circuit to determine whether the cabin interior needs to be cooled or heated, so as to switch the flow direction of the branch circuit liquid.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following beneficial effects: the present application realizes the interaction and integration of the tilt-rotor aircraft on-board cooling system, the wing ice prevention system and the cabin environment control system by designing a comprehensive thermal management system, thereby realizing the functions of on-board device cooling, wing ice prevention and cabin temperature management, simplifying the types of tilt-rotor aircraft devices and systems, and reducing the weight of the whole machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 A tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system schematic diagram is provided for the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 And Figure 3 A wing heat exchanger structure diagram is provided for the present application;

[0020] Figure 4 A whole system flow path diagram in cabin cooling mode is provided for the present application;

[0021] Figure 5 A whole system flow path diagram in cabin heating mode is provided for the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the technical means, creative features, purposes and effects realized by the present application easy to understand, the present application is further described below in combination with specific embodiments.

[0023] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "front end", "rear end", "both ends", "one end", "the other end" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0024] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "provided with", "connection" and the like should be broadly understood, for example, "connection" can be fixed connection, can also be detachable connection, or integral connection; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, can be internal communication of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0025] Embodiment one

[0026] As shown in Figure 1 A tilt-rotor aircraft thermal management system includes a cooling part, a wing heat exchange part and a cabin environmental control part, each part is communicated through a cooling circuit, the cooling circuit includes a main circuit and a branch circuit, the main circuit connects the cooling part and the wing heat exchange part, the branch circuit connects the cabin environmental control part, the main circuit and the branch circuit use liquid cooling method to cool the equipment needing cooling, use liquid cooling medium (such as liquid water, ethylene glycol coolant, heat exchange oil, etc.) as heat transfer medium to provide cooling control for the equipment needing cooling.

[0027] The cooling part includes heat generating equipment, a main water pump and a liquid storage tank, the heat generating equipment is connected to the main water pump, and the main water pump is connected to the liquid storage tank. Among them, the heat generating equipment is the equipment that will emit heat during the operation of the aircraft, i.e. the above-mentioned equipment needing cooling, including motor controller, airborne motor and airborne battery, etc. Each heat generating equipment is connected to the main water pump, and each heat generating equipment is connected to the main circuit in parallel and cooled by the same set of liquid cooling system; the liquid storage tank is used to store sufficient capacity of coolant, the liquid storage tank is arranged at the highest position of the whole system, a pressure relief vent valve is arranged on the liquid storage tank for discharging gas, controlling system pressure and maintaining the flow of coolant. The low-temperature liquid flowing out of the liquid storage tank flows into each heat generating equipment needing cooling through a shunt pipe; the main water pump is an electric water pump that provides power for the flow of coolant and can change the speed to meet the cooling flow demand according to the cooling flow demand of the heat generating equipment.

[0028] Preferably, each cooling branch of the heat-generating equipment is provided with a separate control valve, each heat-generating equipment can calculate the required cooling flow according to the heat-generating equipment temperature and the cooling liquid temperature, and the flow of the cooling liquid entering the heat-generating equipment is controlled by controlling the valve opening of the regulating valve, the cooling liquid meeting the cooling demand is obtained, and the energy consumption is reduced, so as to realize temperature control.

[0029] The wing heat exchange part is a wing (referred to as a wing heat exchanger) that plays a role of a heat exchanger, and the main loop discharges heat to the external environment through the wing heat exchanger. Figure 2 and 3 The wing heat exchanger adopts a box-type hollow structure, a flow channel for the flow of a cooling medium and a fin or needle rib structure for strengthening heat exchange and improving strength are arranged in the internal hollow structure; the wing heat exchanger is externally provided with an airfoil-shaped surface, and pipeline joints for connecting pipelines are arranged at both ends, so that the wing heat exchanger can be connected with external pipelines; after the high-temperature cooling liquid enters the wing heat exchanger, the heat is discharged to the external environment, and the cooling liquid becomes low-temperature liquid, thereby playing a role of heat exchange and wing ice prevention. The wing heat exchanger is made of a metal material (such as aluminum alloy) with a large thermal conductivity, which is beneficial to heat exchange between the inside and outside of the wing.

[0030] The high-temperature liquid flowing out of the heat-generating equipment is collected into the total loop, mixed, and then enters the wing heat exchanger. The wing heat exchanger is connected with the liquid storage tank, the low-temperature cooling liquid flowing out of the wing heat exchanger returns to the main loop and the liquid storage tank, and the heat of the heat-generating equipment is used to prevent ice, reduce heat loss, and improve energy utilization efficiency. An electric heater is arranged between the heat-generating equipment and the wing heat exchanger, and if the temperature of the cooling liquid is insufficient to meet the ice prevention requirement, the electric heater is turned on to increase the temperature of the cooling liquid, so that the temperature of the cooling liquid can meet the ice prevention requirement.

[0031] A branch loop is designed in the main loop and connected with a cabin environmental control part for cabin environmental control. The cabin environmental control part includes a cabin heat exchanger, an electromagnetic three-way valve, and a secondary water pump, and the cabin heat exchanger and the secondary water pump are connected and controlled through the electromagnetic three-way valve. The cabin heat exchanger is arranged on the inner surface of the cabin, can cause heat exchange between the fluid flowing inside and the cabin environment, and realize heat exchange between the cabin environment and the fluid inside the heat exchanger; a plurality of electromagnetic three-way valves are connected to the secondary water pump, and can switch the flow direction of the cooling liquid in the branch loop.

[0032] The cabin environmental control part judges whether the cabin needs refrigeration or heating according to the temperature of the cooling liquid in the main loop and the temperature of the cabin, changes the flow direction of the branch loop according to the requirement, controls the branch flow by controlling the power of the secondary water pump, thereby improving the temperature control effect of the cabin environment, using the heat of the heat-generating equipment to realize cabin environmental control, reducing heat loss, and improving energy utilization efficiency.

[0033] In addition, air conditioning equipment is additionally arranged in the cabin, and the cabin environment temperature control can additionally increase the air conditioning equipment to perform auxiliary cabin temperature control.

[0034] In the embodiment of the application, temperature sensors are arranged at each position of the loop, including temperature sensors arranged on each device and temperature sensors connected to each pipeline, to measure the temperature of the cooling liquid in the loop and the temperature of each device (including the heat generating device, the wing heat exchanger, the liquid storage tank and the cabin heat exchanger). The system compares the temperature inside the cabin and the temperature of the branch loop to determine whether the cabin needs to be cooled or heated, so as to switch the flow direction of the liquid in the branch loop.

[0035] The running state of the whole system includes two running states:

[0036] (1) cooling of the heat generating device, wing heat exchange and cabin refrigeration:

[0037] The flow path schematic diagram of this working state is shown in Figure 4 In this working state, the main water pump and the auxiliary water pump are started, and the main water pump injects the low-temperature cooling liquid in the liquid storage tank into the heat generating device to be cooled. The main loop and the heat generating device have temperature sensors, which measure the temperature of the cooling liquid and the temperature of the heat generating device to calculate the required cooling liquid flow rate, and adjust the valve to make the flow rate meet the cooling requirement. After cooling, the high-temperature cooling liquid is combined into one path and enters the wing heat exchanger to discharge heat to the external environment. The cooling liquid temperature is reduced after passing through the wing heat exchanger, and the cooling liquid returns to the liquid storage tank through the main loop to enter the circulation again. When the cabin needs to be cooled, the electromagnetic three-way valve is adjusted to switch the branch loop to the refrigeration loop, and the low-temperature cooling liquid flowing out of the wing heat exchanger is injected into the cabin heat exchanger to exchange heat with the cabin heat exchanger. The cooling liquid temperature is increased after passing through the cabin heat exchanger, and the cooling liquid returns to the wing heat exchanger to discharge heat to the external environment. The cabin temperature and the cooling liquid temperature are measured to calculate the cooling liquid flow rate required for the cabin heat exchange, and the auxiliary water pump power is adjusted to make the cooling liquid meet the requirement. In the refrigeration mode, the liquid in the branch loop flows into the wing heat exchanger after being cooled.

[0038] (2) cooling of the heat generating device, wing heat exchange and cabin heating:

[0039] The flow path schematic diagram of this working state is shown in Figure 5The main circuit and the state (one) remain consistent, so that the branch circuit liquid flow direction changes. In this working state, the main water pump and the auxiliary water pump are opened, and the main water pump injects the low-temperature coolant in the storage tank into the heat-generating equipment that needs to be cooled. The main circuit and the heat-generating equipment have temperature sensors inside, by measuring the coolant temperature and the heat-generating equipment temperature, the required coolant flow is calculated, and the flow can meet the cooling demand by adjusting the valve. After cooling is completed, the high-temperature coolant is merged into one road, enters the wing heat exchanger, and discharges heat to the outside environment, and the coolant temperature through the wing heat exchanger is reduced, and is returned to the storage tank through the main circuit to enter the circulation again. When the cabin needs to be heated, the branch circuit is converted into a heating circuit by adjusting the electromagnetic three-way valve, the main circuit high-temperature coolant is injected into the cabin heat exchanger, and heat exchange is performed with the cabin heat exchanger, the cabin heating required coolant flow is calculated by measuring the cabin temperature and the coolant temperature, and the coolant meets the demand by adjusting the auxiliary water pump power. In the heating mode, the branch circuit liquid returns to the storage tank.

[0040] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present application and the advantages of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the above-mentioned embodiments and descriptions in the specification are only to illustrate the principles of the present application, and various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A thermal management system for a tiltrotor aircraft, characterized in that, include: The cooling section, the wing heat exchange section, and the cabin environmental control section are all connected through a cooling circuit. The cooling circuit includes a main circuit and a branch circuit. The main circuit connects the cooling section and the wing heat exchange section, and the branch circuit connects the cabin environmental control section. The main circuit and the branch circuit use liquid cooling to cool the equipment that needs to be cooled, using liquid cooling medium as the heat transfer medium to provide cooling control for the equipment that needs to be cooled. In the wing heat exchange section, the high-temperature liquid flowing out of the heating equipment flows into the main circuit, is mixed, and then enters the wing heat exchanger. The wing heat exchanger is connected to the liquid storage tank. The low-temperature coolant flowing out of the wing heat exchanger returns to the main circuit and back to the liquid storage tank. The heat from the heating equipment is used to achieve anti-icing, reduce heat loss, and improve energy utilization efficiency. The engine room environmental control system determines whether the engine room needs cooling or heating based on the main circuit coolant temperature and the engine room temperature. It also changes the flow direction of the branch circuit according to the demand and controls the branch flow by controlling the power of the auxiliary water pump, thereby improving the engine room ambient temperature control effect. It uses the heat from the heat-generating equipment to achieve engine room environmental control, reduces heat loss, and improves energy utilization efficiency.

2. The tiltrotor aircraft thermal management system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cooling system includes a heating element, a main water pump, and a storage tank. The heating element is connected to the main water pump, and the main water pump is connected to the storage tank.

3. The thermal management system for a tiltrotor aircraft as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The heating devices include a motor controller, an onboard motor, and an onboard battery. Each heating device is connected to the main water pump, and all heating devices are connected to the main circuit in parallel and cooled by the same liquid cooling system.

4. The tiltrotor aircraft thermal management system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, Each cooling branch of the heating device is equipped with an individual control valve. Each heating device can calculate the required cooling flow rate based on the temperature of the heating device and the temperature of the coolant. By controlling the opening of the regulating valve, the flow rate of the coolant entering the heating device can be controlled individually.

5. A tiltrotor aircraft thermal management system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The liquid storage tank is located at the highest point of the entire system. A pressure relief vent valve is installed on the liquid storage tank to release gas, control system pressure, and maintain the flow of coolant. The low-temperature liquid flowing out of the liquid storage tank flows into each heat-generating device that needs to be cooled through the distribution pipe.

6. The thermal management system for a tiltrotor aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wing heat exchanger adopts a box-type hollow structure. Inside the hollow structure, there are flow channels for the cooling medium to circulate and fins or pin ribs to enhance heat exchange and improve strength. The exterior of the wing heat exchanger is an airfoil shape, with pipe joints at both ends for connecting to external pipelines. After the high-temperature coolant enters the wing heat exchanger, it releases heat to the external environment and becomes a low-temperature liquid, thus playing the role of heat exchange and wing anti-icing.

7. A tiltrotor aircraft thermal management system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, An electric heater is installed in front of the wing heat exchanger. If the coolant temperature is insufficient to meet the anti-icing requirements, the electric heater is turned on to raise the coolant temperature to meet the anti-icing requirements.

8. The thermal management system for a tiltrotor aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The nacelle environmental control system includes a nacelle heat exchanger, a solenoid three-way valve, and an auxiliary water pump. The nacelle heat exchanger and the auxiliary water pump are connected and controlled by a solenoid three-way valve. The nacelle heat exchanger is located on the inner surface of the nacelle, enabling heat exchange between the fluid flowing inside and the nacelle environment, thus achieving heat exchange between the nacelle environment and the fluid inside the heat exchanger. Multiple solenoid three-way valves are connected to the auxiliary water pump, which can switch the direction of coolant flow in the branch circuit.

9. A tiltrotor aircraft thermal management system as described in claim 8, characterized in that, Air conditioning equipment is added to the cabin, and cabin temperature is controlled by adding air conditioning equipment.

10. A thermal management system for a tiltrotor aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Temperature sensors are installed at various points in the loop, including temperature sensors on each piece of equipment and temperature sensors connected to each pipeline, to measure the temperature of the coolant in the loop and the temperature of each piece of equipment. The system compares the temperature inside the engine room and the branch loop to determine whether the engine room needs cooling or heating, and then switches the direction of liquid flow in the branch loop.

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