Aircraft Engine Heat Management System for Thermal Stress Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft engines face challenges in managing heat during start-up and cooling down after shutdown, which affects performance and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves an engine assembly with a heat management system that includes a coolant circuit, a pump, an expansion tank, and a heat exchanger, along with a control system to regulate the circulation of liquid coolant for effective heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the engine operates during start-up before reaching optimal temperature, then the engine can be started quickly, but the performance is reduced and fuel consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat management system performs preliminary heating of the coolant and engine components before the engine start-up using an electric heater. This preliminary action brings the engine components to optimal operating temperature in advance, ensuring that when the engine starts, it immediately operates at peak performance without the trade-off of reduced efficiency during warm-up.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If sufficient cooling is provided to hot engine components, then thermal stress is reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant circuit serves multiple functions: it cools engine components during operation, stores thermal energy in the expansion tank, and can be heated by the electric heater during start-up. This multi-functionality allows a single integrated system to handle both heating and cooling requirements, reducing overall system complexity while effectively managing thermal stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The expansion tank acts as an intermediary thermal energy storage device between the coolant circuit and the environment. It absorbs excess heat during operation and releases it during start-up, mediating thermal fluctuations and reducing the need for complex active cooling controls.
3Reliability
If the engine is allowed to cool down completely after shutdown, then the next start-up can be safe, but a substantial amount of time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors the temperature of the coolant and engine components, and based on this feedback, intelligently controls the pump and heater operations. After shutdown, the system maintains minimal circulation and activates the heater if temperatures drop below optimal thresholds, ensuring the engine is ready for the next start-up without requiring complete cooling down, thus reducing waiting time while maintaining reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables efficient heat management during engine start-up and shutdown, reducing warm-up time, fuel consumption, and thermal stress on engine components, while also extending engine lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
a coolant circuit (116) configured for circulating the liquid coolant and being in heat exchange relationship with said engine (110)
Implementation Method 2
a pump (118) fluidly connected to said coolant circuit (116) for inducing a flow of the liquid coolant within said coolant circuit (116)
Implementation Method 3
a heat exchanger (128) in heat exchange relationship with said coolant circuit (116), wherein the heat generated by said engine (110) is transferred to the environment (E) via the heat exchanger (128)
Data Source
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AI summary
There is disclosed an engine assembly (100) for an aircraft, including a combustion engine (110) including a coolant circuit (116) in heat exchange relationship with a heat sink (126), the heat sink (126) including a heat exchanger (128) and at least one component (130), the at least one component (130) having a main function that differs from thermal exchange.