AIRCRAFT PROPULSION ARCHITECTURE INTEGRATING AN ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM

• US 20140290208A1
• Filed: 08/03/2012
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus
• Original Assignee: Airbus
• Inventors: Smaoui, Hichem, Joubert, Emmanuel, Rechain, Bruno, Bezes, Gilles, Sautreuil, Matthieu
• Granted Patent: US 9,885,289 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 60/39.23
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2027/8209 Electrically driven tail rotors
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/04 Helicopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 27/026 comprising different types of power plants, e.g. combination of a piston engine and a gas-turbine Hybrid electric aircraft B64D27/33
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/16 Control of working fluid flow F02C9/48 takes precedence; control of air-intake flow F02C7/057
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A drive system of at least one rotor of an aircraft via electrical energy in addition to or as a replacement of a mechanical system. The electrical energy is provided at least in part by at least one device for recovering thermal energy from hot gases of an internal combustion engine of the aircraft.

Claims

1. An aircraft provided with at least one propulsion turbine and comprising an electrical power system for powering at least one item of equipment and comprising a thermal energy recuperation device, installed on the turbine, for generating electrical energy using thermal energy contained in exhaust gases of the turbine as its hot source and using one of the following working fluid as its cold source:

ambient air, engine oil, fuel or turbine cooling fluid.

2. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device comprises:

an evaporator for transferring some of the thermal energy contained in the hot source to the working fluid, the evaporator being installed at a nozzle of the turbine;

a conversion machine for converting the thermal energy of the working fluid into mechanical energy;

an electric generator powered by the conversion machine;

a condenser for condensing the working fluid leaving the conversion machine by exchanging heat with the cold source;

a pump for compressing the working fluid leaving the condenser and circulating it through the evaporator;

a control system for adjusting a power produced by the energy recuperation device by controlling at least one of throughput or pressure of the pump.

3. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ambient air is the working fluid and wherein the energy recuperation device comprises:

an evaporator, installed on an outlet side of the turbine, for transferring some of the thermal energy contained in the hot source to the ambient air;

a conversion machine converting the thermal energy of the ambient air into mechanical energy;

an electric generator powered by the conversion machine;

a compressor and its associated control system for bleeding the ambient air and compressing the ambient upstream of the evaporator.

4. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device comprises a set of thermoelectric cells for converting heat from a turbine nozzle directly into electricity.

5. The aircraft as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a power electronics system incorporated downstream of the generator of the energy recuperation device, the power electronics system performing one or more of the following functions:

operating at a maximum power point available at the recuperation device by incorporating a Maximum Power Point Tracking function;

regulating a voltage to control quality of the electrical energy;

shaping the electrical energy output from the generator so that it can be used by one or more loads or a distribution system supplied;

adapting a power setpoint given to the recuperation device to a power demanded by the load or loads supplied;

protecting the recuperation device and the generator against an overload.

6. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device generates an optional electrical power as a replacement for all or some of generating machines powered by power take-offs from an MGB/engine auxiliaries gearbox.

7. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device is dedicated to powering at least one of the following optional loads:

a deicing/anti-icing system, an air conditioning compressor or an electrical heating system, the energy recuperation device generating the electrical energy to power an optional item of equipment or a set of optional equipment items.

8. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device is connected to an electric power system provided with a reconfiguration system for reconfiguring itself so that a main electric power supply bus of the aircraft is powered by the energy recuperation device if a main generation is lost.

9. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device powers a main electrical network of the aircraft as a replacement for, or to supplement by running in parallel with, electrical energy generated by power take-offs from a MGB or an engine auxiliaries gearbox.

10. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device powers an independent electrical bus to supplement main busbars powered by MGB sources, thereby creating an additional independent power source.

11. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy recuperation device powers at least one of hydraulic or mechanical/pneumatic auxiliaries.

12. The aircraft as claimed in claim 1 wherein the aircraft is a helicopter having a main rotor and a tail rotor.

13. The aircraft as claimed in claim 12, wherein the energy recuperation device comprises a hybridizing system for at least the main rotor or the tail rotor, the electrical energy generated by the energy recuperation device being associated with batteries used for hybridization as a replacement or to supplement them, and placed in series or in parallel therewith.

14. The aircraft as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a power electronics system incorporated downstream of a recuperation generator of the energy recuperation device for managing operation of the recuperation generator in parallel with at least one main generator of the aircraft.

15. A system for driving at least one rotor of an aircraft using electrical energy to supplement, or as a replacement for, a mechanical system, further comprising at least one device for recuperating thermal energy derived from hot gases of an internal combustion engine of the aircraft to supply at least part of the electrical energy.

16. The drive system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the thermal energy recuperation device comprises a thermodynamic machine using a thermodynamic cycle between exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine as a hot source, and an ambient air as a cold source.

17. The drive system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the thermodynamic machine comprises a first exchanger on the hot source, a second exchanger on the cold source, a heat transfer fluid circulating between the first and the second exchangers, and a conversion unit for converting the thermal energy into mechanical energy between the exchangers.

18. The drive system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the recuperation device comprises an electrical generator machine coupled to the conversion unit for providing mechanical/electrical conversion.

19. The drive system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the recuperation device powers all or some of the following auxiliary circuits:

electrical circuits, hydraulic circuits or pneumatic circuits of the aircraft.

20. The drive system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the recuperation device comprises a mechanical/pneumatic conversion device for powering the pneumatic circuits of the aircraft.

21. The drive system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the recuperation device comprises a mechanical/hydraulic conversion device for powering the hydraulic circuits of the aircraft.

22. The drive system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the hot gases are the exhaust gases from a propulsion piston engine of the aircraft.

23. The drive system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first exchanger is coupled to an exhaust pipe of the propulsion piston engine.

24. The drive system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the hot gases are gases generated by a propulsion turbine of the aircraft.

25. The drive system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the first exchanger is arranged in an outlet nozzle of the turbine.

26. The drive system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the rotor is a rotary wing aircraft rotor.

27. The drive system as claimed in claim 26, wherein the rotor is a helicopter tail rotor.