Heated Starter Air Valve Ice Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Starter air valves in aircraft engines often experience air leakage due to drainage features, which reduces engine efficiency when closed, and ice buildup prevents the valve from opening during start-up operations, leading to potential flight delays.
Innovation Solution
A heated starter air valve with an electric heating system that melts ice within the valve body, eliminating the need for drainage features and reducing leakage by ensuring the valve can open during engine start-up, using a resistance wire heating element and a power source to generate heat and maintain valve movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If drainage features are incorporated into the valve body to prevent ice buildup, then ice prevention is improved, but air leakage increases when the valve is closed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the drainage features (drain holes) from the valve body that were previously used to prevent ice buildup. Instead, it extracts the ice prevention function and relocates it to a heating element that actively melts ice, thereby eliminating the source of air leakage while maintaining ice protection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the passive mechanical drainage system (drain holes) with an active thermal system (heating element). The heating element uses electrical energy to generate heat, melting ice through thermal energy rather than relying on gravitational drainage, thus solving both ice prevention and air leakage issues
2Loss of energy
If the valve is kept closed to prevent air leakage, then system efficiency is improved, but ice buildup prevents the valve from opening during start-up
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is activated before the valve needs to open during start-up operations. By pre-heating and melting any accumulated ice while the valve remains closed, the system ensures the valve will function reliably when opening is required, without compromising system efficiency during closed operation
Solution Approach 2:
The heating element acts as an intermediary between the electrical power source and the ice accumulation. It converts electrical energy to thermal energy, creating a controlled heat source that melts ice without requiring the valve to open, thus mediating between the need to keep the valve closed and the need to prevent ice blockage
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
The heated starter air valve effectively prevents ice buildup, ensuring efficient operation by allowing the valve to open without air leakage, thus enhancing system efficiency and reducing the risk of flight delays.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element (130) interposed between the first and second layers and configured to generate heat
Implementation Method 2
electric heat is used to melt ice that would otherwise prevent the starter air valve from opening
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A heated valve is provided and includes a valve body (11) having an inlet (110), an outlet (111) downstream from the inlet (110) and a valve section (112) fluidly interposed between the inlet (110) and the outlet (111), a valve element (12) operably disposed within the valve section (112) to assume and move between at least a first position at which fluid communication between the inlet (110) and the outlet (111) is prevented by the valve element (12) and a second position at which the fluid communication is permitted and a heating system (13). The heating system (13) is in operable communication with at least one of the valve body and the valve element (12) and is configured to melt ice that could prevent movement of the valve element (12) between the first and second positions.