Supercritical CO2 Cooling System with Fire Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft components, such as propeller motors and batteries, generate heat and can overheat if not cooled properly, leading to malfunctions or electrical fires, and require both thermal management and fire suppression systems to ensure safety and operational integrity.
Innovation Solution
An onboard thermal management system incorporating supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) as both a coolant and fire suppressant, with spray outlets and regulating valves along cooling lines that are activated by smoke or fire detectors to direct coolant to potential fire sites, providing dual functionality of cooling and fire suppression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate cooling and fire suppression systems are installed, then fire suppression capability is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is designed to perform dual functions: thermal management during normal operation and fire suppression during emergencies. The same coolant lines, spray outlets, and circulating coolant serve both cooling components and suppressing fires, eliminating the need for a separate fire suppression system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the cooling system and fire suppression system into a single integrated system. The coolant lines, spray outlets, and control mechanisms are merged so that the infrastructure serves both thermal management and fire suppression purposes simultaneously.
2Reliability
If coolant is diverted to spray outlets for fire suppression, then fire suppression response is improved, but cooling effectiveness of components may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts coolant flow based on operational conditions. During normal operation, coolant flows through all channels for optimal cooling. During fire suppression, regulating valves dynamically redirect coolant flow to spray outlets near the fire while maintaining adequate flow through cooling circuits to prevent overheating of components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses fire detectors and temperature sensors to monitor conditions and provide feedback to the control system. This feedback enables real-time adjustment of regulating valves to optimize the balance between fire suppression and component cooling based on actual thermal conditions and fire location.
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 system effectively cools aircraft components while providing immediate fire suppression using SCO2, reducing the risk of overheating and electrical fires, and does so with a sustainable and efficient method that integrates with existing cooling systems without additional weight or cost.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger coupled to the coolant lines
Implementation Method 2
the coolant includes carbon dioxide... SCO2 is useful in fire suppression
Data Source
AI summary
A system for fire suppression in an aircraft includes hot and cold coolant lines, a heat exchanger separately coupled to the hot coolant lines and to the cold coolant lines, and spray outlets along the coolant lines. Smoke or fire detectors are disposed at multiple locations of the aircraft. In certain examples, the coolant lines having supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) circulating therein. Regulating valves are coupled to the spray outlets to control flow of the SCO2 through the spray outlets. A controller manages activation of the regulating valves to spray SCO2 through the spray outlets.