Aircraft Engine Fire Control With Automatic Fuel Cutoff Sequence
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manual fire suppression procedures in aircraft engines place a significant workload on pilots, increasing the risk of human error during emergencies, and there is a need for a more reliable and automated system to reduce these errors.
Innovation Solution
An avionics system automatically activates fuel shut-off and fire extinguishers in response to fire detection, following predetermined conditions to ensure efficient fire suppression while minimizing pilot intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual fire suppression procedures are used, then pilots can control the fire suppression system and avoid false alarms, but pilot workload increases significantly and human error risk increases during emergencies
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system automatically detects fire conditions through detectors and executes suppression actions without requiring pilot intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously monitoring engine compartments, identifying fire conditions, and activating appropriate extinguishers based on predetermined logic, thereby eliminating the burden of manual operation while maintaining reliable fire suppression.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures suppression strategies and detector thresholds before emergencies occur. When fire conditions are detected, the predetermined suppression sequence is automatically executed, eliminating the need for pilots to make critical decisions under stress. The system has already prepared the response protocol in advance, ensuring reliable and timely fire suppression.
2Productivity
If automatic fire suppression is implemented, then pilot workload is reduced and response time is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automatic fire suppression system is divided into independent functional modules: fire detectors in each engine compartment, control logic for determining fire conditions, and discrete fire extinguisher units. Each module operates semi-independently, allowing the system to achieve automatic rapid response while managing complexity through modular design. This segmentation enables straightforward troubleshooting and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The avionics system integrates multiple functions into a single fire suppression control unit: fire detection signal processing, fire condition evaluation, extinguisher activation control, and system status monitoring. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated systems for each function, thereby limiting overall system complexity while maintaining fast automatic response capability.
3Reliability
If fuel cut-off is automatically activated, then fuel supply to burning engine is stopped immediately, but the risk of extinguishing agents being drawn into the engine increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system activates the fuel cut-off valve as the first action immediately upon detecting fire conditions, before triggering the fire extinguisher. This preliminary fuel shut-off prevents fresh fuel from reaching the fire zone and eliminates the risk of extinguishing agents being drawn into an actively burning engine. The sequence is predetermined to address this harmful effect proactively.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by cutting off the fuel supply before the fire suppression agent is released. This counteracts the potential harmful effect of agent ingestion by removing the fuel source in advance, ensuring that when the extinguishing agent is deployed, there is no active combustion process that would draw the agent into the engine.
4Reliability
If multiple fire extinguishers are deployed sequentially, then fire suppression reliability is enhanced, but the time required for complete suppression increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-determines the optimal sequence for deploying multiple fire extinguishers based on the detected fire location and engine configuration. Upon fire detection, the system immediately activates the first extinguisher targeted at the affected engine compartment, and subsequently activates additional extinguishers according to a predetermined sequence that maximizes suppression efficiency while minimizing total suppression time.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for controlling an aircraft (1) comprising at least two engines (16, 17), each engine (16, 17) being arranged in an engine compartment (21, 22) of its own, each engine (16, 17) being connected to a fuel supply circuit (31, 36) provided with a supply cut-off switch (34, 38) of its own for cutting off a fuel supply, said aircraft (1) comprising at least one fire detector (26-29) in each engine compartment (21, 22), said aircraft (1) comprising at least a first fire extinguisher (40) and a second fire extinguisher (45).An automatic assistance phase (PHASASSIST) comprises, in the event of a fire detected in an engine compartment, automatically and with an avionics system (60), an activation of the power cut-off switch (34, 38) of the engine (16, 17) present in the compartment concerned, then a triggering of the first extinguisher (40), then a triggering of the second extinguisher (45) under respective predetermined conditions.