Cadet name

Cadet Number
Specialty

Research project

Topic:

Air conditioning
(Temperature control in military aircrafts)
 Table of Contents

Introduction:...............................................................................................2

Description of ECS architecture of a military aircraft:..............................3

System components:...................................................................................5

Comfort Level:...........................................................................................7

NATOPS Check Ride with no A/C:...........................................................7

Air Cycle Air Conditioning:.......................................................................8

a. Digital Controller....................................................................................9

b. High Pressure Water Removal...............................................................9

c. Air Cycle Machine................................................................................10

Conclusion:...............................................................................................10

References:...............................................................................................11

11
 Introduction:
Over past many years, there has been a radical technology changes in the field of
military aviation. As technology grows, the operational requirements of a modern
military aircraft have become more demanding. This will in turn necessitates the high
level performance required by the pilots. All modern high performance military
aircraft operate over a wide range of speeds and altitudes, and can consequently be
subjected to a rapid temperature changes. Within a short time of take-off from sea
level where the ambient temperature can be more than 45˚C, an aircraft can be flying
at an altitude where ambient temperature is approximately -60˚C at 40,000 ft. This
change in ambient temperatures at different altitudes makes it challenging for the
pilots to perform effectively due to the presence of high thermal stress during
operations.
During actual flying conditions the effectiveness of aircraft’s cockpit air
conditioning system is normally assessed by measuring the dry bulb temperature of
the air, without considering the radiant temperature and humidity. The radiant
temperature of the cockpit normally rises during low level flying due to kinetic
heating of the airframe surfaces and also due to greenhouse effect. If the cockpit
radiant temperature exceeds the pilot mean skin temperature of 33˚C then the heat
loss from the body cannot take place and consequently body starts gaining heat in
such an environment. Meanwhile the humidity content of the cabin air starts
increasing due to sweat evaporation of the pilots to keep the body temperature within
the normal thermoregulatory requirements.
If the cockpit air-conditioning system is not effective enough in the removal of
heat, the pilot’s body reacts by sweating. If the sweating becomes ineffective, pilot’s
body temperature will rapidly rise beyond acceptable limits of flying. This
necessitates assessing the efficacy of the cockpit air-conditioning system by
measuring the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), or pilot’s mean skin temperature.
The bootstrap air cycle machine is the most commonly used air refrigeration
system in high performance military aircraft due to its proven record, simplicity and
ease of maintenance. The main components include compressor, turbine, and heat
exchanger. Both compressor and turbine are mounted on a common air bearing shaft.
An additional fan may also be installed on a same shaft to induce more ram air during
low level & high speed operations. The energy produced by turbine during an

11
 expansion process is utilized to drive the compressor as well as a fan. In this paper a
two-wheel bootstrap air cycle machine is considered for simulation studies in which
both turbine and compressor are mounted on a common airbearing shaft without any
fan.

Description of ECS architecture of a military aircraft:

Description of ECS architecture of a military aircraft The system architecture of a
state-of-the-art ECS with high pressure water extraction system is shown in Fig 1.
This type of configuration is found on majority of the high performance military
aircraft. In its operation the engine bleed air at a very high temperature and pressure
goes through the pre-cooler and then splits into two airflows. One goes through the
primary heat exchanger and is the main air source of the cooling sub-system, while
the other goes through the temperature control valve and is the main air source of the
heating sub-system. The air of the cooling sub-system goes through the shut-off valve
and splits into two flows. One goes through a by-pass valve and then joins the airflow
of the heating sub-system, while the other is compressed through the bootstrap
compressor.
After compression, the air is again cooled down to near ambient temperature by the
ram air charged cross flow secondary heat exchanger. This cooled air is then passed
through a Re-heater where further drop in temperature of the air occurs.

Fig 1. The system architecture of a strike aircraft ECS with high pressure water
separation system
Source: https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/aircraft-air

11
 The rate of condensation in the Re-heater is quite low compared to the condenser
and accounts for less than 30% of the total condensation achieved by the system.
However the condensation function of the Re-heater is only a secondary one as the
main purpose is to increase the temperature and energy level of the air before
supplying it into the turbine. The air is then goes into the condenser and reaches the
temperature where most of the water vapour present is condensed and becomes into
liquid droplets. About 69 % of the water vapour present in the air is removed at this
stage. However some prior condensation takes place in the secondary heat exchanger
and Re-heater before finally reaching the condenser. The air then goes into the high
pressure water separator where 85% to 95% [1] of the water condensate is removed
from the air through centrifugal action which imparts swirling motion to the air. The
air then becomes dehumidified and contains about 1 to not more than 3 grains of total
water vapour per kilogram of dry air.
The water droplets collected at the bottom of water separator is injected at the inlet
of Secondary heat exchanger ram air duct to improve its effectiveness. Water spray
nozzles are used for this purpose. This dehumidified air is then goes back to the re-
heater where its temperature will increase while the temperature of the air coming
from the secondary heat exchanger will decrease. The warm air with no moisture
content is flown to the inlet of cooling pack turbine where it expands isentropically
and cools down further. This cold air is then routed back to the condenser in which
the temperature of the air will further come down before supplying it into the cockpit.
During this process, the temperature of the air coming from regenerative heat
exchanger drops as the expanded air will absorb the heat load from the moist air
coming from the Reheater. The rise in temperature of the expanded air is equal to the
amount of condensation removed from the incoming moist air and also the sensible
cooling load corresponds to the temperature reduction imparted to the incoming air
while at the condenser.
In order to achieve the desired cockpit temperature, the inlet temperature of the air
being supplied into the cockpit required to be modulated. The hot air is tapped at a
point downstream of primary heat exchanger for this purpose and is supplied via
temperature control valves. The hot air is then mixed with cold air downstream of
condenser in a mixing manifold till the Fig 1. The system architecture of a strike
aircraft ECS with high pressure water separation system required inlet temperature is

11
 maintained. The temperature control valves are fully automatic in operation and are
modulated electronically in response to the selected cockpit temperature.
In high pressure water extraction system, the temperature at the downstream of
cooling turbine may reach sub-zero temperatures to increase the cooling capacity of
the system. This will pose an icing threat in ducts and condenser. In order to remove
this ice formation, the temperature of the air is maintained above the freezing point
temperature by supplying hot air from the anti-icing temperature control valve. The
air required for avionics cooling is then taken from downstream of the condenser and
is supplied via flow control valves. The dehumidified air for avionics cooling may be
supplied at subzero temperatures at altitudes to meet the cooling demands.

The primary functions for air conditioning systems include,

 Cockpit Pressurization
 Heating/Cooling/air-conditioning
 Windshield anti-fog/anti-ice

System components:
The systems usually use conditioned engine bleed air or this purpose. The cockpit air
conditioning is usually managed by the pilot. For example, in case of F-15, the
following system is available:

Image from f-15e.info

Source: https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/aircraft-air-
TEMP switch: A three-way switch to manage cockpit temperature. When AUTO,
cockpit temperature is automatically maintained at the temperature selected on the

11
 TEMP knob. When MANUAL, cockpit temperature may be changed with the knob,
but not maitained automatically. When OFF, it shuts down off ECS air.
TEMP knob: A rotary knob to set the cockpit temperature.
FLOW switch: A three-way switch to select air flow. MIN, MAX and NORM
settings are available for minimum/maximum/normal air flow, respectively.
FLOW knob: A four-position knob to set the air source. When BOTH, bleed air is
supplied from both engines. When L ENG or R ENG, bleed air is supplied from the
left/right engine only. When OFF, no bleed air is supplied.
The following image shows the other controls associated with ECS.

Image from f-15e.info

Source: https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/aircraft-air-
In the A7-E the air-conditioning system takes high pressure bleed air and passes it
through the primary heat exchanger. After here it enters compressor wheel section of
the a/c unit, where the heat exchanger reduces the temperature of the bleed air.
The A7-E cockpit temperature is maintained either manually or by setting the
cockpit temperature with the temperature control knob. There is cockpit over-
temperature protection which is provided in automatic and manual settings, and limits
the cockpit temperature to 210 degrees F. See the image below for the pictures and
locations of the controls.
The air-conditioning system also provides anti-exposure suit ventilation and this is
controlled separately from cockpit temperature. In my squadron very few of the pilots

11
 used anti-exposure suites, and most used wet suits when flying over cold water (less
than 60 degrees F).

Comfort Level:
While airborne, with an operable air-conditioning unit, the cockpit was very
comfortable. This was true for the coldest to the hottest days I experienced. Full gear
was: wet suit (cold water operations), flight suit, g-suit, LPA and survival harness,
helmet with visor down, flight boots, Nomex gloves, and oxygen mask on. The
oxygen was conditioned and so was always cool on the face, and not uncomfortable.
There were times where the system was not quite useful. While on the tarmac was
one such time, and this due to limited power on the aircraft, and hence lower pressure
bleed air. Don't remember it ever getting too bad though, because we could have the
canopy closed. On the deck of the carrier we were required to have our canopy open,
and without much power on the aircraft, there was almost no cooling. The
environment on the deck was hot. Think big asphalt parking lot in Houston with Jet
exhaust everywhere. It did become almost unbearable if you were subjected to
someone's jet exhaust, which got trapped in the cockpit by the clam shell canopy,
burned the eyes, and made it difficult to breathe.

NATOPS Check Ride with no A/C:

I flew out to Lemore from China Lake to pick up a NATOPS Check Pilot to go
through my flight safety test. It was a cloudless day and warm out, but not hot. On the
way there the air conditioning failed and there was no cooling or heating. The heat in
the cockpit built up quickly. I decided to press on and by the time I got to Lemore my
flight suit was completely wet from head to toe from sweat. It was pretty bad in the
cockpit. I drank a lot of water and sat down to brief with the other pilot. I asked him if
I should re-schedule the check ride and he said we didn't have to. It was an experience
I don't think either one of us had had up to that point. A very uncomfortable flight, but
still not unbearable. Any longer flight time would have caused distraction from the
physical discomfort, and dangerous dehydration.

11
 Air-conditioning & Pressurization controls

Source: https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/aircraft-air-conditioning-

Air Cycle Air Conditioning:

The air cycle refrigeration is the predominant means of air conditioning for
commercial and military aircraft of all types. It not only enjoys the advantage of
simplicity and inherent compactness of pneumatic equipment but also meets the
integrated cooling and pressurization requirements of an aircraft.Based on Joule or
Reversed Brayton air cycle, this system utilizes high pressure, high temperature bleed
air, extracted from the compressor of either main engine or APU. It is first routed
through a primary heat exchanger where temperature is brought close to the ram-air
temperature. After having the pressure of the airboosted by the compressor of the Air
Cycle Machine(ACM) it is again led through a secondary heatexchanger for further
removal of heat. It is finallyexpanded in the turbine to obtain sufficiently cold air.This
air is then delivered into the cabin/cockpit for cooling, ventilation, and air
pressurization requirements.A water separator, normally placed at the exit of

11
 theACM, helps in removing the moisture condensed duringexpansion process.Heating
is achieved by mixing controlledamount of hot bleed-air, after by-passing the ACM,
withthe cold air that comes out of it. ECS generally consistsof three major
subsystems.
Air conditioning System The design of air conditioning system always centers
around its air cycle machine. Modern day’s system has evolved from simple low flow
turbo-cooler based refrigeration with low pressure water separator, manual
temperature control and waterair/air-air radiator to intelligent digital controller based
air conditioning &temperature Control System configured with 2-wheel, 3-wheel or
4-wheel boot strap air cycle machine, high pressure water extraction, regenerative
heating and light weight air-toair heat-exchangers.

a. Digital Controller
The digital controller based ECS not only maintain cabin/cockpit temperature with
a high degree of precision but also offers numerous options such as of maintaining the
correct air temperature entering the ACM through a sensor located at the d/s of the
primary inputs. Sensor at the inlet of the cabin/cockpit allows it to precisely control
the temperature of air entering the cabin as control algorithms constantly calculate the
inflow temperature required to meet the changing temperature requirements. The
system is also capable digital temperature displays and inputs, digital bus connectivity
(to on-board computer) Laptop based diagnostics s/w and re-programmable control
equation heat exchanger and then controlling the amount of bypass bleed air for the
Primary Heat Exchanger. This results in an optimum inlet condition for the ACM and
guarantees an efficient operation of the unit. The digitally controlled inflow control
system also have the unique ability to set multiple inflow rates for multiple flight
conditions as against single or dual flow setting system typically found in pressure
regulator or flow limiting orifice based bleed flow control system. All these facilities
reduce the pilot load tremendously.

b. High Pressure Water Removal

High pressure water extraction loop comprise of condenser, high pressure water
separator and re-heater. This moisture removal technology eliminates icing at ACM
outlet, enables turbine exit temperature to attain subzero state and avoids the usage of
complex condensing type heat exchanger. It also obviates regular maintenance
involved in conventional type lowpressure water separator and complexity of ducting.

11
 c. Air Cycle Machine
The design of ECS normally centers around a high efficiency air cycle machines.
These are generally 2-wheel units comprising of either centrifugal compressor and
radial turbine or radial/axial fan and a radial/axial turbine mounted on the same shaft.
However, technology improvement has introduced 3 wheel ACM consisting of a
turbine, compressor and fan and 4 wheel ACM consisting of two turbines, a
compressor and a fan to achieve a high level of cooling capacity for ECS. These
ACMs are in operation particularly in commercial aircraft/Helicopters. A pair of
patented Hamilton-Sundstrand four wheel ACMs form the heart of the air
management system on the world’s largest twinjet the Boeing 777. The
centrifugal/axial fans, used in the above units, are either to load the turbines or to
induce air flow through heat exchangers or to discharge air over board.

Conclusion:
The aim of cabin conditioning in military aircraft is the creation of an environment
which will allow the pilot to work at maximum efficiency, and which will not
prejudice his safety in an emergency. The physical characteristics of the cabin
environment may differ markedly from those of a room in an office block, yet the
pilot must be made comfortable. New physiological data are required here. Heating or
cooling appliedirectly to the pilot's body may be necessary, particularly in
emergencies where cabin conditioning fails.
The temperature both of the atmosphere and of the aircraft may change by more
than 100°C in a few minutes. Complex cabin conditioning equipment is, therefore,
necessary and must be as light and reliable as possible. Present military aircraft cabins
are usually cooled by air cycle refrigerators of the expansion turbine type, using
ambient air fuel or water as a heat sink. In the future different types of cooling may
become necessary.

11
 References:
1. Michel, A.: “Air cycle Environmental Control System with fully
energy regenerative high pressure water condensation and extraction”.
WO99/02399 ed., B64D 13/06, United States (1999)
2. SAE Aerospace, “Applied Thermodynamics Manua”l. Characteristics
of Equipment Components, Equipment Cooling System Design and Temperature
Control System Design. AIR1168/6, Society of Automotive Engineers, USA
(2004)
3. Tavares, S.: “Thermodynamic Study of Aircraft Air-conditioning Air
Cycle Machines- 3 Wheel and 4 Wheel”. SAE Technical Paper Series, vol. 01-
2579 E (2007)
4. Lawson, C. P., AVD Lecture notes, School of Engineering.
“Environmental Control Systems Requirements and Analysis”. Cranfield
University. United Kingdom (2009)
5. https://www.deepenggind.com/air-conditioning-system-for-cockpit-
cooling-of-military-aircraft/
6. https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/aircraft-air-
conditioning-systems.html#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20types%20of,often
%20used%20on%20reciprocating%20aircraft.
7. https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/aircraft-air-
conditioning-systems.html#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20types%20of,often
%20used%20on%20reciprocating%20aircraft.

11