Smart hybrid electric and bleed architecture
First Claim
1. A hybrid electric and bleed system for a vehicle, comprising:
- an environmental control system (ECS) having a pressurization circuit and a cooling circuit, the pressurization circuit providing air near cabin pressure, the cooling circuit rejecting heat and water from the air outside a pressure vessel and the ECS configured to be powered by mechanical power from pressurized bleed air and by electrical power through an electric motor;
an electric system having at least one engine driven starter-generator, at least one auxiliary power unit driven starter-generator, at least one main AC bus, and at least one variable voltage of variable frequency bus, whereinthe main AC bus receives alternating current from the engine driven starter-generator or the auxiliary power unit driven starter-generator in a generation mode;
the variable voltage of variable frequency bus receives variable voltage of variable frequency either from a DC bus through at least one inverter/motor controller or from the main AC bus through at least one matrix converter, and the variable voltage of variable frequency bus supplies power to start the engine driven starter-generator or the auxiliary power unit driven starter-generator.
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Abstract
An aircraft architecture may be designed to create an optimal balance between electric power and bleed power in order to match or improve current more electric architecture (MEA) performance while simplifying power extraction from the engines as well as simplifying the electrical system. Conventional aircraft architectures may use electric only ECS and cabin pressurization systems (so-called “no bleed” systems). Alternatively, older conventional aircraft may use strictly engine bleed air to provide power for ECS and cabin pressurization systems. The present invention, on the other hand, provides an architecture which may optimize the use of both engine bleed air and MEA designs to provide a system that may be simpler and potentially more reliable and available as compared to conventional aircraft architectures.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A hybrid electric and bleed system for a vehicle, comprising:
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an environmental control system (ECS) having a pressurization circuit and a cooling circuit, the pressurization circuit providing air near cabin pressure, the cooling circuit rejecting heat and water from the air outside a pressure vessel and the ECS configured to be powered by mechanical power from pressurized bleed air and by electrical power through an electric motor; an electric system having at least one engine driven starter-generator, at least one auxiliary power unit driven starter-generator, at least one main AC bus, and at least one variable voltage of variable frequency bus, wherein the main AC bus receives alternating current from the engine driven starter-generator or the auxiliary power unit driven starter-generator in a generation mode; the variable voltage of variable frequency bus receives variable voltage of variable frequency either from a DC bus through at least one inverter/motor controller or from the main AC bus through at least one matrix converter, and the variable voltage of variable frequency bus supplies power to start the engine driven starter-generator or the auxiliary power unit driven starter-generator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17)
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12. A hybrid electric and bleed system comprising:
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an electric architecture, the electric architecture comprising; a first and at least a second engine, each having at least one engine driven starter-generator; at least one APU driven starter-generator; at least one main AC bus; at least one DC bus; and at least one VVVF bus, wherein the main AC bus receives alternating current from the engine driven starter-generator or the APU driven starter-generator in a generation mode; the DC bus receives direct current from the main AC bus through at least one AC-to-DC power converter; and the VVVF bus receives variable voltage of variable frequency from the DC bus through at least one inverter/motor controller and the VVVF bus supplies power to start the engine driven starter-generator or the APU driven starter-generator; and a bleed architecture, the bleed architecture comprising; an environmental control system having a pressurization circuit and a cooling circuit, the pressurization circuit providing air near cabin pressure and the cooling circuit rejecting heat and water from the air outside a pressure vessel; and a compressor configured to be selectively operable by electrical power delivered to an electric motor, mechanical power delivered by pressurized bleed air to a turbine to drive the compressor or a combination of the electrical power and the mechanical power. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification