Parker-Hannifin Corporation

Bryan David Jensen

Daniel Christopher Massie

Daniel J Henninger

Scott P Auld-hill

Brian A Ault

Steven C Dow

John William Hayden

Gustavo Toriz

Mike Bonchonsky

Michael J Bonchonsky

Robert F Golles

A fuel gauging system for a fuel tank containing fuel and an ullage gas in an ullage of the tank. The fuel gauging system pressurizes/depressurizes the ullage gas and measures changes in conditions of the ullage gas to determine ullage gas volume and thus volume of the fuel. The system may infer one or more values in the volume calculation to reduce the number of measurements involved. The inferred values may come from known operating characteristics of an inerting system integrated with the fuel gauging system. The system may use a control valve that operates within the limits of a climb-dive valve to generate the system response. The control valve may control delivering or receiving ullage gas from another tank to preserve the ullage gas. An inerting system may be integrated into such a paired-tank fuel gauging system.

Negative space fuel tank gauging system and ullage gas control

A sparging evaporator for an inerting system including an outer vessel, an inner vessel within the outer vessel, and a plenum formed between the inner and outer vessels. The outer vessel includes a gas inlet for receiving inlet gas into the plenum, and a liquid inlet for receiving liquid fuel into the plenum. The inlet gas in the plenum generates a gas pressure that is exerted against a free surface of the liquid fuel in the plenum thereby forcing the liquid fuel and the inlet gas through an inlet of the inner vessel. The inner vessel contains a structure that promotes liberation of fuel vapor from the liquid fuel and enables the inlet gas in the liquid fuel to sparge the fuel vapor in the liquid fuel, thereby forming a fuel-enriched gas mixture that can be fed to a reactor of the inerting system.

Sparging evaporator with porous media for fuel enrichment in catalytic inerting system

A sparging evaporator for an inerting system including an outer vessel, an inner vessel within the outer vessel, and a plenum formed between the inner and outer vessels. The outer vessel includes a gas inlet for receiving inlet gas into the plenum, and a liquid inlet for receiving liquid fuel into the plenum. The inlet gas in the plenum generates a gas pressure that is exerted against a free surface of the liquid fuel in the plenum thereby forcing the liquid fuel and the inlet gas through an inlet of the inner vessel. The inner vessel contains a lattice structure that promotes liberation of fuel vapor from the liquid fuel and enables the inlet gas in the liquid fuel to sparge the fuel vapor in the liquid fuel, thereby forming a fuel-enriched gas mixture that can be fed to a reactor of the inerting system.

Lattice structure for sparging evaporator in catalytic inerting system

An inerting system for a fuel tank containing a liquid fuel and an ullage gas. The inerting system includes a fluid circuit connectable to the fuel tank, an evaporator connected in the circuit, and a reactor connected in the circuit downstream of the evaporator. The evaporator receives a flow of the liquid fuel from the fuel tank and volatilizes at least a portion of the liquid fuel to thereby form a volatilized fuel vapor. The evaporator also receives a flow of the ullage gas from the fuel tank, and permits the ullage gas to sweep away the volatilized fuel vapor downstream with the ullage gas to thereby form a fuel enriched gas mixture containing the ullage gas and the volatilized fuel vapor. The reactor converts at least some of the fuel enriched gas mixture into a non-flammable gas. The circuit supplies at least some of the non-flammable gas to the fuel tank.

Catalytic inerting system with fuel vapor enrichment

An example ullage-recirculating catalytic inerting system includes: (i) a plurality of fuel tanks having (a) respective inert gas ports for discharging the inert gas within a respective fuel tank, and (b) respective ullage gas ports for drawing ullage gas from the respective fuel tank; and (ii) an inert gas generating system including (a) an ullage gas inlet port fluidly coupled to the respective ullage gas ports, (b) an inert gas outlet port fluidly coupled to the respective inert gas ports, (c) a catalytic reactor for chemically converting ullage gas received through the ullage gas inlet port to inert gas for discharge through the inert gas outlet port, and (d) a prime mover for moving gas through the inert gas generating system.

Catalytic inerting system for an aircraft with multiple fuel tanks

A catalytic inerting system (CIS) architecture includes a fuel tank including a fuel tank inlet and a fuel tank outlet, the fuel tank defining a space for containing a liquid fuel and an ullage space above the liquid fuel containing an ullage gas. A catalytic reactor is in fluid communication with the fuel tank, the catalytic reactor having a catalytic inlet and a catalytic outlet, wherein the catalytic reactor receives an ullage gas flow from the fuel tank outlet and performs a catalytic reaction on the ullage gas to produce a more inert flow from the catalytic outlet to the fuel tank inlet. A bypass line provides a flow pathway between the fuel tank inlet and the fuel tank outlet, thereby bypassing the fuel tank, and a flow control mechanism controls relative flows of the inert flow from the catalytic outlet to the fuel tank inlet versus through the bypass line.

Catalytic inerting system architecture and control methods for increased fuel tank safety

An onboard aircraft inerting system includes an apparatus and method for regenerating an activated carbon media of a filter module while the aircraft is in flight. In regeneration mode, the activated carbon media is heated to a temperature sufficient to desorb the VOC contaminants adsorbed thereon and the air stream passing through the filter module is at a pressure lower than the air pressure of the air stream passing through the filter in normal inerting mode.

Regenerative activated carbon filtration for aircraft obiggs

Regenerative activated carbon filtration for aircraft OBIGGS

An air separation system and method wherein the outlet of a primary air separation module (one or more modules or bundles of fiber membranes) is split into two flow paths, a low flow path and a high flow path. The outlet of a secondary air separation module (one or more modules or bundles of fiber membranes) is split into two flow paths, a mid flow path and a high flow path, the latter being joined with the high flow of the primary air separation module. Flow along the primary low flow passes through a low-flow orifice, flow along the secondary mid-flow path passes through a mid-flow orifice, and flow along the high flow paths of both the primary and secondary air separation modules is joined together for passage through a shutoff valve and a high flow orifice. This configuration allows for three different flow modes of operation.

Three flow architecture and method for aircraft OBIGGS

An inerting system and method characterized by a primary air separation module configured to communicate with an upstream source of pressurized air at elevated temperature for production of a primary downstream flow of nitrogen-enriched air to be delivered to a space to be inerted; a secondary air separation module configured to communicate with the upstream source of pressurized air at elevated temperature for production of a supplemental downstream flow of nitrogen-enriched air to be delivered to a space to be inerted when high nitrogen-enriched airflow is desired during a high flow period; and a flow controller configured to provide a warming flow through the secondary air separation module to heat the secondary air separation module to above ambient temperature during a warming period other than the high flow period.

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Mission Viejo, CA, United States of America

Bryan David Jensen