A phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system

Abstract

The application discloses a phase change cold storage type aircraft environmental control system and relates to the technical field of aircraft environmental control systems.The system comprises the following: the outlet of a first heat exchanger is communicated with a third pipeline through a first pipeline; the outlet of the first heat exchanger is communicated with the first inlet of a heat sink heat exchanger through a second pipeline and a working medium; the first outlet of the heat sink heat exchanger is communicated with the inlet of a heat exchanger unit, and the outlet of the heat exchanger unit is communicated with the inlet of the first heat exchanger; the second outlet of the heat sink heat exchanger is communicated with a fifth pipeline; the outlet of an environmental air and working medium heat exchanger and the inlet of a phase change material storage tank are communicated through the fifth pipeline, the outlet of the phase change material storage tank is respectively communicated with the inlets of a seventh and an eighth pipeline through a sixth pipeline, the outlet of the seventh pipeline is communicated with the inlet of the environmental air and working medium heat exchanger, and the outlet of the eighth pipeline is communicated with the second inlet of the heat sink heat exchanger.The application can solve the situation that the cold quantity of an aircraft environmental control system is increasingly scarce.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft environmental control system technology, and in particular to a phase change cooling aircraft environmental control system. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, aircraft environmental control systems typically use ambient air as a heat sink to provide cooling for onboard equipment. However, with the continuous advancement of onboard equipment performance, its heat load is constantly increasing, leading to a growing shortage of cooling capacity in existing aircraft environmental control systems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a phase change cooling system for aircraft environmental control, which can solve the problem of increasingly scarce cooling capacity in aircraft environmental control systems.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following solution:

[0005] An environmental control system for a phase change air-cooled vehicle includes:

[0006] The heat-carrying circuit and the cold-storage circuit; the heat-carrying circuit includes: a first heat exchanger, a self-circulating shut-off valve, a cold-storage circuit connection shut-off valve, and a heat exchanger unit connected in parallel with the heat-generating element unit of the aircraft; the cold-storage circuit includes: an ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger, a phase change material storage tank, a working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger, a cold-storage shut-off valve, and a cold-release shut-off valve.

[0007] The outlet of the first heat exchanger is connected to the third pipe via a first pipe; the outlet of the first heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger via a second pipe; the self-circulation shut-off valve is installed on the first pipe, and the cold storage loop connection shut-off valve is installed on the second pipe; the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the heat exchanger unit via the third pipe, and the outlet of the heat exchanger unit is connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger; the second outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger is connected to the fifth pipe via a fourth pipe; the outlet of the ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the phase change material storage tank via the fifth pipe, and the outlet of the phase change material storage tank is connected to the inlets of the seventh and eighth pipes via a sixth pipe, the outlet of the seventh pipe is connected to the inlet of the ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger, and the outlet of the eighth pipe is connected to the second inlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger; the cold storage shut-off valve is installed on the seventh pipe, and the cold release shut-off valve is installed on the eighth pipe.

[0008] Optionally, the heat transfer circuit further includes a heat sink tank; the heat sink tank is disposed between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

[0009] Optionally, the heat transfer circuit further includes: a backup heat exchanger; the backup heat exchanger is disposed between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

[0010] Optionally, the heat exchanger unit includes multiple heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers, and the heating element unit includes multiple heating elements. Each heating element corresponds one-to-one with a heat sink and heating element heat exchanger in the heat exchanger unit and is connected in parallel. The inlets of the heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers in the heat exchanger unit are all connected to the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger through the third pipe. The outlets of the heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers in the heat exchanger unit are all connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger.

[0011] Optionally, the heat transfer circuit further includes: a heat transfer circuit drive pump; the heat transfer circuit drive pump is disposed between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

[0012] Optionally, the cold storage circuit further includes a working fluid storage tank disposed on the sixth pipeline.

[0013] Optionally, the cold storage circuit further includes a cold storage circuit drive pump installed on the sixth pipe.

[0014] According to specific embodiments provided by the present invention, the present invention discloses the following technical effects:

[0015] The outlet of the first heat exchanger is connected to a third pipe via a first pipe; the outlet of the first heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger via a second pipe; a self-circulation shut-off valve is installed on the first pipe, and a cold storage circuit shut-off valve is installed on the second pipe; the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the heat exchanger unit via a third pipe, and the outlet of the heat exchanger unit is connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger; the second outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger is connected to a fifth pipe via a fourth pipe; the outlet of the ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the phase change material storage tank via a fifth pipe, and the phase change material... The outlet of the material storage tank is connected to the inlets of the seventh and eighth pipes via the sixth pipe. The outlet of the seventh pipe is connected to the inlet of the ambient air-working fluid heat exchanger, and the outlet of the eighth pipe is connected to the second inlet of the working fluid-heat sink heat exchanger. The cold storage shut-off valve is installed on the seventh pipe, and the cold release shut-off valve is installed on the eighth pipe. Under different load conditions, by controlling the opening and closing of the self-circulation shut-off valve, the cold storage loop connection shut-off valve, the cold storage shut-off valve, and the cold release shut-off valve, cold storage can be stored under low heat load and cold release can be achieved under high heat load, thus solving the increasingly scarce cold capacity of the aircraft's environmental control system. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the environmental control system for a phase change energy storage aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating the operation mode of the environmental control system for a low-heat-load time-change cold storage aircraft, provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the operation mode of the environmental control system for a high-heat-load time-varying, cold-storage aircraft, provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Symbol explanation:

[0021] 1. Working fluid storage tank; 2. Cold storage loop drive pump; 3. Ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger; 4. Phase change material storage tank; 5. Working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger; 6. Heat sink storage tank; 7. Standby heat exchanger; 8. Heat transfer loop drive pump; 9. First heat exchanger; 10. First heating element; 11. Second heating element; 12. Third heating element; 13. First heat sink and heating element heat exchanger; 14. Second heat sink and heating element heat exchanger; 15. Third heat sink and heating element heat exchanger; 16. Cold storage capacity shut-off valve; 17. Cold release capacity shut-off valve; 18. Self-circulation shut-off valve; 19. Cold storage loop connection shut-off valve. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0024] This invention provides a phase-change cooling system for an aircraft's environmental control system. Since the heat load of airborne equipment is closely related to the flight phase and mission, it fluctuates, exhibiting a specific intermittent pattern. Therefore, this invention utilizes low heat loads for cooling storage and high heat loads for cooling release, thus solving the problem of insufficient cooling capacity under high heat loads. Compared to single-phase heat exchange, the working fluid absorbs or releases a large amount of latent heat during both gas-liquid and solid-liquid phase changes, resulting in an order-of-magnitude increase in heat exchange capacity. This application utilizes the phase-change principle for cooling storage, significantly improving the cooling capacity per unit volume and the efficiency of cooling extraction and release within the system, better meeting the stringent requirements of aircraft for the size, weight, and efficiency of their environmental control systems. Figure 1 As shown, the phase change energy storage-cooled aircraft environmental control system provided in this embodiment of the invention includes:

[0025] A heat transfer circuit is configured to extract, transport, and dissipate heat from airborne equipment, and a cold storage circuit is configured to extract and store cold energy from the external environment under low heat loads and release cold energy to the heat transfer circuit under high heat loads to ensure that the airborne equipment does not overheat. The heat transfer circuit includes: a first heat exchanger 9, a self-circulating shut-off valve 18, a cold storage circuit connection shut-off valve 19, and a heat exchanger unit connected in parallel with the aircraft's heat-generating element unit. The cold storage circuit includes: an ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger 3, a phase change material storage tank 4, a working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5, a cold energy storage shut-off valve 16, and a cold energy release shut-off valve 17. The first heat exchanger 9 is used to realize heat exchange between the heat sink in the heat transfer circuit and the external ambient air or airborne fuel. The working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 is used to realize heat exchange between the working fluid in the cold storage circuit and the heat sink in the heat transfer circuit. The ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger 3 is used to realize heat exchange between the working fluid in the cold storage circuit and the external ambient air. Specifically, the working fluid in the cold storage circuit can be a refrigerant.

[0026] The outlet of the first heat exchanger 9 is connected to a third pipe via a first pipe; the outlet of the first heat exchanger 9 is connected to the first inlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 via a second pipe; the self-circulation shut-off valve 18 is installed on the first pipe, and the cold storage circuit connection shut-off valve 19 is installed on the second pipe; the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 is connected to the inlet of the heat exchanger unit via the third pipe, and the outlet of the heat exchanger unit is connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger 9; the second outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 is connected to the first pipe via a third pipe. The fourth pipe is connected to the fifth pipe; the outlet of the ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger 3 is connected to the inlet of the phase change material storage tank 4 through the fifth pipe; the outlet of the phase change material storage tank 4 is connected to the inlets of the seventh and eighth pipes through the sixth pipe; the outlet of the seventh pipe is connected to the inlet of the ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger 3; the outlet of the eighth pipe is connected to the second inlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5; the cold storage shut-off valve 16 is installed on the seventh pipe; and the cold release shut-off valve 17 is installed on the eighth pipe.

[0027] In practical applications, the heat transfer circuit can switch modes to meet different operating conditions. When the heat load is low, the self-circulation shut-off valve 18 is opened and the cold storage circuit connection shut-off valve 19 is closed, realizing the self-circulation of the heat transfer circuit. When the heat load is high, the self-circulation shut-off valve 18 is closed and the cold storage circuit connection shut-off valve 19 is opened, realizing heat exchange with the cold storage circuit through the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5.

[0028] The cold storage circuit can switch modes to adapt to different operating conditions. When the heat load is low, the cold storage shut-off valve 16 opens and the cold release shut-off valve 17 closes. The cold storage circuit absorbs cold energy from the ambient air through the heat exchanger 3 between the ambient air and the working fluid, achieving primary storage of cold energy through the gas-liquid phase change of the refrigerant. When the refrigerant passes through the phase change material storage tank 4, it achieves secondary storage of cold energy through the solid-liquid phase change of the phase change material. When the heat load is high, the cold storage shut-off valve 16 closes and the cold release shut-off valve 17 opens. The refrigerant flowing through the heat exchanger 5 releases cold energy through the gas-liquid phase change and enters the heat transfer circuit. At the same time, the phase change material in the phase change material storage tank 4 releases cold energy through the solid-liquid phase change, ensuring a continuous supply of cold energy to the heat transfer circuit.

[0029] In practical applications, the first heat exchanger 9 is a heat exchanger that allows ambient air or airborne fuel to exchange heat with the heat sink.

[0030] In practical applications, the heat transfer circuit further includes a heat sink tank 6 for storing the heat sink in the heat transfer circuit; the heat sink tank 6 is located between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

[0031] In practical applications, the heat transfer circuit further includes: a backup heat exchanger 7; the backup heat exchanger 7 is located between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe, and the backup cooling capacity is extracted using the consumable working fluid carried by the aircraft.

[0032] In practical applications, the heat exchanger unit includes multiple heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers, and the heating element unit includes multiple heating elements. Each heating element corresponds one-to-one with a heat sink and heating element heat exchanger in the heat exchanger unit and is connected in parallel, enabling simultaneous heat extraction from multiple branches. The inlets of the heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers in the heat exchanger unit are all connected to the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 through the third pipe. The outlets of the heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers in the heat exchanger unit are all connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger 9. The heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers are used to achieve heat exchange between the heat sink and heating element in the heat transfer circuit.

[0033] In practical applications, the heat exchanger unit includes three heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers, namely the first heat sink and heating element heat exchanger 13, the second heat sink and heating element heat exchanger 14, and the third heat sink and heating element heat exchanger 15. The heating element unit includes three heating elements, namely the first heating element 10, the second heating element 11, and the third heating element 12.

[0034] In practical applications, the heat transfer circuit further includes: a heat transfer circuit drive pump 8, used to realize the circulation of the heat transfer circuit; the heat transfer circuit drive pump 8 is disposed between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

[0035] In practical applications, the cold storage circuit also includes a working fluid storage tank 1 installed on the sixth pipeline for storing the working fluid in the cold storage circuit.

[0036] In practical applications, the cold storage circuit also includes a cold storage circuit drive pump 2 installed on the sixth pipe to realize the circulation of the cold storage circuit.

[0037] The working process of the phase change energy storage-cooled aircraft environmental control system provided in this embodiment of the invention is as follows:

[0038] like Figure 2 As shown, when the aircraft is operating under low heat load, the self-circulation shut-off valve 18 is open and the cold storage circuit connection shut-off valve 19 is closed. The heat generation element unit transfers heat to the heat sink of the heat transfer circuit through the heat exchanger unit. The heat transfer circuit drives the pump 8 to exchange heat with the ambient air or onboard fuel in the first heat exchanger 9. The backup heat exchanger 7 is activated according to actual needs to provide cooling using consumable working fluid. At the same time, the cold storage shut-off valve 16 is open and the cold release shut-off valve 17 is closed. The cold storage circuit drives the pump 2 to drive the refrigerant to absorb cooling from the ambient air through the gas-liquid phase change in the working fluid heat exchanger 3. The phase change material storage tank 4 obtains cooling from the refrigerant through the solid-liquid phase change of the phase change material and stores the cooling.

[0039] like Figure 3 As shown, when the aircraft is operating under high heat load, the self-circulation shut-off valve 18 is closed and the cold storage circuit connection shut-off valve 19 is open. The heating element unit transfers heat to the heat sink of the heat transfer circuit through the heat exchanger unit. The pump 8 driven by the heat transfer circuit obtains cooling capacity from the ambient air or onboard fuel in the first heat exchanger 9, and obtains cooling capacity from the cold storage circuit in the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 to match the heat load. The standby heat exchanger 7 is activated according to actual needs to provide cooling capacity using consumable working fluid. At the same time, the cold storage shut-off valve 16 is closed and the cold release shut-off valve 17 is open. The cold storage circuit drive pump 2 drives the refrigerant to undergo a gas-liquid phase change in the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger 5 to release cooling capacity to the heat transfer circuit. The phase change material in the phase change material storage tank 4 undergoes a solid-liquid phase change to replenish the refrigerant in the cold storage circuit, completing the release of cooling capacity.

[0040] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0041] 1. The phase change cooling aircraft environmental control system provided by this invention utilizes the properties of refrigerant gas-liquid phase change and phase change material solid-liquid phase change to absorb or release a large amount of latent heat for phase change cooling. The design of the cooling circuit with large cooling capacity, high cooling transfer efficiency, and high cooling efficiency coupled with the heat transfer circuit solves the problem of insufficient cooling capacity of onboard equipment temperature control (under high heat load) during specific mission phases and flight phases of the aircraft.

[0042] 2. The phase change cold storage aircraft environmental control system provided by the present invention forms an operating mode that stores cold energy under low heat load and releases cold energy under high heat load, depending on the different flight missions and flight phases.

[0043] 3. The phase change storage-cooled aircraft environmental control system provided by the present invention makes full use of various heat sinks to cool airborne equipment. During use, consumable working fluid can be used as backup cooling capacity, thereby further improving the cooling capacity of the aircraft environmental control system.

[0044] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. For the systems disclosed in the embodiments, since they correspond to the methods disclosed in the embodiments, the descriptions are relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the method section.

[0045] This document uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system, comprising: include: The heat-carrying circuit and the cold-storage circuit; the heat-carrying circuit includes: a first heat exchanger, a self-circulating shut-off valve, a cold-storage circuit connection shut-off valve, and a heat exchanger unit connected in parallel with the heat-generating element unit of the aircraft; the cold-storage circuit includes: an ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger, a phase change material storage tank, a working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger, a cold-storage shut-off valve, and a cold-release shut-off valve. The outlet of the first heat exchanger is connected to a third pipe via a first pipe; the outlet of the first heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger via a second pipe; the self-circulation shut-off valve is installed on the first pipe, and the cold storage loop connection shut-off valve is installed on the second pipe; the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the heat exchanger unit via the third pipe, and the outlet of the heat exchanger unit is connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger; the second outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger is connected to a fifth pipe via a fourth pipe; the outlet of the ambient air and working fluid heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the phase change material storage tank via the fifth pipe. The outlet of the phase change material storage tank is connected to the inlets of the seventh and eighth pipes via a sixth pipe. The outlet of the seventh pipe is connected to the inlet of the ambient air-working fluid heat exchanger, and the outlet of the eighth pipe is connected to the second inlet of the working fluid-heat sink heat exchanger. The cold storage shut-off valve is installed on the seventh pipe, and the cold release shut-off valve is installed on the eighth pipe. When the heat load is low, the self-circulation shut-off valve is open, the cold storage loop connection shut-off valve is closed, the cold storage shut-off valve is open, and the cold release shut-off valve is closed. When the heat load is high, the self-circulation shut-off valve is closed, the cold storage loop connection shut-off valve is open, the cold storage shut-off valve is closed, and the cold release shut-off valve is open.

2. The phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system of claim 1 wherein, The heat transfer circuit further includes a heat sink tank; the heat sink tank is located between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

3. The phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system of claim 1 wherein, The heat transfer circuit further includes a backup heat exchanger; the backup heat exchanger is located between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

4. The phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system of claim 1 wherein, The heat exchanger unit includes multiple heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers, and the heating element unit includes multiple heating elements. Each heating element corresponds one-to-one with a heat sink and heating element heat exchanger in the heat exchanger unit and is connected in parallel. The inlets of the heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers in the heat exchanger unit are all connected to the first outlet of the working fluid and heat sink heat exchanger through the third pipe. The outlets of the heat sinks and heating element heat exchangers in the heat exchanger unit are all connected to the inlet of the first heat exchanger.

5. The phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system of claim 1 wherein, The heat transfer circuit further includes a heat transfer circuit drive pump; the heat transfer circuit drive pump is disposed between the first connection point and the heat exchanger unit; the first connection point is the connection between the eighth pipe and the seventh pipe.

6. The phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system of claim 1 wherein, The cold storage circuit also includes a working fluid storage tank installed on the sixth pipeline.

7. The phase change thermal storage aircraft environmental control system of claim 1 wherein, The cold storage circuit also includes a cold storage circuit drive pump installed on the sixth pipeline.

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