Cold fuel cooling of intercooler and aftercooler

• US 20100192890A1
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aerovironment
• Original Assignee: Aerovironment
• Inventors: Brooks, Alexander Nelson, Daley, James Gallagher, Hibbs, Bart Dean
• Granted Patent: US 8,196,862 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 123/1.00A
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2050/20 Aircraft engines
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/02 Intercooler
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/10 Fuel manifold
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 29/0412 Multiple heat exchangers arranged in parallel or in series
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 29/0493 Controlling the air charge temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 43/00 Engines characterised by operating on gaseous fuels; Plants including such engines engines characterised by the gas-air charge being ignited by compression ignition of an additional fuel F02B7/06; engines convertible from gas to other fuel consumption F02B69/04
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/12 Turbochargers, i.e. plants for augmenting mechanical power output of internal-combustion piston engines by increase of charge pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/143 before or between the compressor stages
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/16 characterised by cooling medium
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/224 Heating fuel before feeding to the burner
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 31/16 Other apparatus for heating fuel
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 31/20 for cooling F02M31/005 takes precedence; use of cold F02M17/52; cooling of charging-air or of scavenging-air F02B29/04
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/205 Cooling fluid recirculation, i.e. after cooling one or more components is the cooling fluid recovered and used elsewhere for other purposes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A high-altitude aircraft powerplant including an engine, a two-stage turbocharger having an intercooler and an aftercooler, a cryogenic hydrogen fuel source, and a cooling system including a hydrogen heat exchanger. Aided by a ram-air cooler that cools a coolant to a near-ambient temperature, the heat exchanger is configured to heat the hydrogen using the coolant, and to cool the coolant to a temperature well below the ambient temperature during high-altitude flight. The intercooler and aftercooler use the sub-ambient temperature coolant, as does a separate sensor. The ram-air cooler includes a front portion and a rear portion. The cooling system includes three cooling loops which respectively incorporate only the front portion, only the rear portion, and both portions of the ram-air cooler.

Claims

1. A powerplant for use in a range of flight conditions, comprising:

a power converter configured to produce energy from a fuel and an oxidizer;

a cryogenic fuel source for use by the power converter, the fuel source fuel being configured to provide the fuel at a temperature below ambient temperatures over the range of flight conditions;

an oxidizer source for use by the power converter, the oxidizer source being configured to provide the oxidizer at a pressure below a desired pressure for use by the power converter;

a first compressor configured to compress oxidizer from the oxidizer source for use by the power converter;

a fuel heat exchanger configured to heat fuel from the fuel source and cool a first coolant to a first temperature that is below the ambient temperature; and

a first-compressor heat exchanger configured to use the first coolant from the fuel heat exchanger at substantially the first temperature to cool the oxidizer intermediate the first compressor and the power converter along a flow path of the oxidizer.

2. The powerplant of claim 1, and further comprising:

a second compressor intermediate the first-compressor heat exchanger and the power converter along a flow path of the oxidizer, and being configured to compress oxidizer from first-compressor heat exchanger for use by the power converter; and

a second-compressor heat exchanger configured to use the first coolant from the fuel heat exchanger at substantially the first temperature to cool the oxidizer intermediate the second compressor and the power converter along a flow path of the oxidizer.

3. The powerplant of claim 2, and further comprising a ram-air heat exchanger upstream of the fuel heat exchanger along a flow path of the coolant, and being configured to cool the first coolant to a second temperature that is above the ambient temperature.

4. The powerplant of claim 1, and further comprising a ram-air heat exchanger upstream of the fuel heat exchanger along a flow path of the coolant, and being configured to cool the first coolant to a second temperature that is above the ambient temperature.

5. An aircraft, comprising:

the powerplant of claim 1; and

a payload device having a cooling requirement;

wherein the aircraft is configured with a payload heat exchanger configured to use the first coolant from the fuel heat exchanger at substantially the first temperature to cool the payload device.

6. The aircraft of claim 5, wherein the payload heat exchanger is separate from the first-compressor heat exchanger.

7. An aircraft powerplant cooling system operating with a first coolant, comprising:

a front ram-air heat exchanger along a ram-air passageway, the front ram-air heat exchanger being configured to cool the coolant;

a rear ram-air heat exchanger downstream of the front ram-air heat exchanger along the ram-air passageway, the front ram-air heat exchanger being downstream of the rear ram-air heat exchanger along a heat-exchanger coolant passageway such that the front ram-air heat exchanger is configured to further cool coolant received from the rear ram-air heat exchanger;

a first thermal load downstream of the front ram-air heat exchanger, the first thermal load being configured to receive cooled coolant from the front ram-air heat exchanger, and being configured warm the received coolant and pass the warmed coolant downstream to the rear ram-air heat exchanger;

a second thermal load; and

a coolant manifold downstream from the rear ram-air heat exchanger and upstream from the front ram-air heat exchanger, the manifold being configured to split coolant received from the rear ram-air heat exchanger into a first stream directed to the front ram-air heat exchanger and a second stream directed to the second thermal load;

wherein the second thermal load is configured to receive cooled coolant from the manifold, and to warm the received coolant and pass the warmed coolant downstream to the rear ram-air heat exchanger.

8. The aircraft powerplant cooling system of claim 7, and further comprising a third thermal load, wherein the third thermal load is configured to receive cooled coolant from the front ram-air heat exchanger, and to warm the received coolant and pass the warmed coolant downstream to the manifold.

9. The aircraft powerplant cooling system of claim 7, wherein the second load is a heat exchanger for a power-converter cooling system for a power converter configured to produce energy from a fuel and an oxidizer.

10. The powerplant cooling system claim 9, wherein the power-converter cooling system operates using a second coolant having a higher melting point than the first coolant.

11. A powerplant for use in a range of flight conditions, comprising:

a power converter configured to produce energy from a fuel and an oxidizer;

a cryogenic fuel source for use by the power converter, the fuel source fuel being configured to provide the fuel at a temperature below ambient temperatures over the range of flight conditions;

a first fuel heat exchanger configured to heat fuel from the fuel source using heat from a first cooling loop that includes a first heat source;

a second fuel heat exchanger configured to heat fuel serially received from the first fuel heat exchanger, the second fuel heat exchanger using heat from a second cooling loop that includes a second heat source; and

a control system configured to control the operation of the first and second cooling loops based on a temperature of the fuel that is received by the power converter

wherein the second heat source is not on the first cooling loop, and wherein the first heat source is not on the second cooling loop.

12. The powerplant claim 11, wherein the first heat source derives heat from a compressed gas, and wherein the second heat source derives heat from the power converter.