Thermal Isolation Pedestal for Aircraft Icing Probe
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal icing condition detectors for aircraft are complex, expensive to construct, prone to debris plugging, and difficult to clean, with internal passageways that are costly and hard to inspect.
Innovation Solution
A thermal icing condition detection system featuring a single element detector with a strut heater and a thermal isolation pedestal that maintains the same temperature as the detector, isolating it from the strut and eliminating the need for a 'dry' air sensor, using resistive sensing elements to indicate impending icing conditions through power consumption changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex internal probe passageways are used to shield the dry thermal sensor from icing, then the sensor is protected from water and ice, but the device becomes expensive to construct, difficult to inspect, and subject to plugging with debris
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the shielding function from complex internal passageways and implements it through a simplified thermal isolation pedestal with external geometry. The pedestal's shape alone provides the shielding effect, eliminating the need for intricate internal channels while maintaining protection from icing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal isolation pedestal acts as a protective shell or envelope around the dry thermal sensor. This shell provides thermal isolation and shields the sensor from direct exposure to water and ice, while its simple external form avoids the complexity of internal passageways.
2Reliability
If complex internal probe passageways are used to separate water and ice from the dry thermal sensor, then sensor protection is achieved, but construction cost and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding function is extracted from complex internal structures and implemented through the simple external geometry of the thermal isolation pedestal. This dramatically reduces manufacturing complexity and construction cost while maintaining sensor protection.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of protecting the sensor through complex internal channels, the invention inverts the approach by using the external shape of the pedestal itself to provide protection. The shielding function is achieved through the overall form rather than internal complexity.
3Reliability
If internal passageways are used for sensor shielding, then protection is provided, but inspection and cleaning become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding function is extracted from internal passageways and implemented through the external geometry of the pedestal. This eliminates hidden internal channels that are difficult to inspect, making maintenance and cleaning straightforward while preserving the shielding capability.
4Device complexity
If a single element detector is used instead of wet and dry sensor pairs, then device complexity is reduced, but thermal isolation from the strut becomes critical to maintain accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal isolation pedestal serves as an intermediary between the single element detector and the strut. It mediates the thermal interaction by providing isolation, ensuring that the detector measures only air temperature without being influenced by strut temperature, thus maintaining measurement precision while using a simpler single-element design.
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 senses impending icing conditions without heat contamination from the strut, providing accurate warnings before icing occurs and reducing maintenance costs by simplifying the design and eliminating the need for complex internal passageways.
Implementation Method 1
a first resistive sensing element that is powered to maintain a regulated detector temperature
Implementation Method 2
a first resistive sensing element that is powered to maintain a regulated detector temperature, the first resistive sensing element providing a probe output voltage that represents detector power consumption
Implementation Method 3
a second resistive sensing element that is powered to maintain a regulated thermal isolation pedestal temperature that is equal to the regulated detector temperature
Implementation Method 4
a second resistive sensing element that is powered to maintain a regulated thermal isolation pedestal temperature
Implementation Method 5
the thermal isolation pedestal thermally isolates the detector from a temperature variation of the strut
Implementation Method 6
a strut that has a strut mount adapted to mount to an aircraft skin and that includes a strut heater
Data Source
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AI summary
In an icing condition detection system, a circuit provides an output representing impending icing conditions as a function of power consumption of a single element detector. A thermal isolation pedestal includes a detector support end that supports the single element detector and an opposite strut mounting end. A thermal isolation controller controls a thermal isolation pedestal temperature to thermally isolate the single element detector from a strut mounting end.