Experimental comparison between aircraft fuel tank inerting processes using NEA and MIG

Fuel tank inerting technologies are able to reduce the fire risk by injection of inert gas into the ullage or fuel, the former called ullage washing and the latter fuel scrubbing. The Green On-Board Inert Gas Generation System (GOBIGGS) is a novel technology based on flameless catalytic combustion, and owning to its simple structure and high inerting efficiency, it has received a lot of attentions. The inert gas in the GOBIGGS is mainly comprised of CO₂, N₂, and O₂ (hereinafter, Mixed Inert Gas (MIG)), while that in the On-Board Inert Gas Generation System (OBIGGS), which is one of the most widely used fuel tank inerting technologies, is Nitrogen-Enriched Air (NEA). The solubility of CO₂ is nearly 20 times higher than that of N₂ in jet fuels, so the inerting capability and performance are definitely disparate if the inert gas is selected as NEA or MIG. An inerting test bench was constructed to compare the inerting capabilities between NEA and MIG. Experimental results reveal that, if ullage washing is adopted, the variations of oxygen concentrations on the ullage and in the fuel are nearly identical no matter the inert gas is NEA or MIG. However, the ullage and dissolved oxygen concentrations of MIG scrubbing are always higher than those of NEA scrubbing.     

Experimental study of an aircraft fuel tank inerting system

In this work, a simulated aircraft fuel tank inerting system has been successfully established based on a model tank. Experiments were conducted to investigate the influences of different operating parameters on the inerting effectiveness of the system, including flow rate of the inert gas(nitrogen-enriched air), inert gas concentration, fuel load of the tank and different inerting approaches. The experimental results show that under the same operating conditions, the time span of a complete inerting process decreased as the flow rate of inert gas was increased; the time span using the inert gas with 5% oxygen concentration was much longer than that using pure nitrogen;when the fuel tank was inerted using the ullage washing approach, the time span increased as the fuel load was decreased; the ullage washing approach showed the best inerting performance when the time span of a complete inerting process was the evaluation criterion, but when the decrease of dissolved oxygen concentration in the fuel was also considered to characterize the inerting effectiveness, the approach of ullage washing and fuel scrubbing at the same time was the most effective.     

一种燃油箱绿色惰化系统地面惰化性能分析

在描述一种采用催化燃烧产生惰气来降低油箱气相空间氧体积分数的新型绿色惰化工作原理基础上,设计了绿色惰化系统流程,通过一定的假设和简化建立了其数学模型并进行了求解.将结果与采用中空纤维膜产生富氮气体的机载惰化系统进行了比较,结果显示:当绿色惰化系统中抽吸气的流量与中空纤维膜惰化所产生富氮气体流量一致时,前者惰化效果远好于后者.同时,还研究了催化反应器效率和预热气体抽取比例对绿色惰化系统的影响,结果表明:提高反应器效率可有效缩短达到安全氧体积分数所需的时间,且最终油箱气相空间氧体积分数会降低,而选取合适的预热气体抽取比例可以减少系统能耗.      

航空燃油类型对催化惰化系统性能的影响

在设计了一种催化惰化系统流程并描述其工作原理的基础上,以从油箱中抽吸气体的摩尔流量为基准,推导了流经催化反应器后各气体组分的流量关系,通过质量守恒方程及气体平衡溶解关系,建立了油箱气相空间气体浓度变化的数学模型。选择了RP-3、RP-5和RP-6燃油作为对象,用所建立的数学模型计算了不同载油率和催化反应器效率下的气相空间氧浓度变化关系。研究显示,由于3种燃油的蒸汽压不同,造成从外界环境补气及进入油箱的混合惰气流量不同,从而导致气相空间氧浓度的变化规律差异远大于采用中空纤维膜的机载惰化系统。因此,在设计催化惰化系统时要充分考虑燃油类型对惰化系统性能的影响。     

Oxygen concentration variation in ullage influenced by dissolved oxygen evolution

To determine the oxygen concentration variation in ullage that results from dissolved oxygen evolution in an inert aircraft fuel tank, the CFD method with a mass transfer source is applied in the present study. An experimental system is also designed to evaluate the accuracy of the CFD simulations. The dissolved oxygen evolution is simulated under different conditions of fuel load and initial oxygen concentration in ullage of an inert fuel tank with stimulations of heating and pressure decrease. The increase in the oxygen concentration in ullage ranges from 0.82% to 5.92% upon stimulation of heating and from 0.735% to 12.36% upon stimulation of a pressure decrease for an inert ullage in the simulations. The heating accelerates the release of the dissolved oxygen from the fuel by increasing the mass transfer rate in the mass transfer source and decreasing the pressure, thereby accelerating the dissolved oxygen evolution by increasing the concentration difference between the gas and the fuel. The time constant that represents the oxygen evolution rate is independent of the initial oxygen concentration in ullage of an inert tank but depends closely on the fuel load, temperature and pressure. The time constant can be fitted using a polynomial equation relating the fuel load to temperature in the heating stimulation with an accuracy of 4.77%. Upon stimulation of a pressure decrease, the time constant can be expressed in terms of the fuel load and the pressure, with an accuracy of 5.02%.     

飞机燃油箱地面预洗涤技术理论研究

基于氧氮质量守恒关系,建立了飞机燃油箱爬升过程中气相空间、燃油中平衡氧浓度及地面预洗涤的数学模型,并采用微元段法对其进行了求解。计算结果显示,当采用富氮气体进行地面预洗涤后时达到的平衡浓度越低,则可达到的安全巡航高度越高。由于爬升过程中逸出的氧气很多会排出燃油箱外,因而地面预洗涤时,并不需要将燃油中氧质量浓度降低至安全气相浓度所对应极限质量浓度,且飞机燃油箱中的初始载油率对洗涤后的氧质量浓度有直接要求,当载油率越高,需要将燃油中的氧质量浓度洗涤的越低。计算还显示,在地面洗涤时,油罐中的油量也对换气次数有直接影响。通过选择合适浓度的富氮气体在地面预洗涤燃油箱,可保证飞机在巡航高度下氧浓度在安全范围内,但是会在一定程度上增加设备的初投资费用。文章的研究结果可为燃油地面预洗涤的工程设计奠定初步的理论基础     

中空纤维膜机载制氮装置的数学建模分析

建立了考虑浓差极化现象的微分方程数学模型,并用正交配置法求解,对中空纤维膜机载制氮装置(OBIGGS)进行了分析,并对部分状态点的计算结果进行了实验验证.结果表明:富氮气体(NEA)中氧气的质量分数随着进气温度的升高而降低,在达到最小值后又呈上升趋势;在进气与排气压力差保持不变的情况下,随着中空纤维膜排气压力的下降,中空纤维膜的富氮气体质量流量逐渐增加;随着中空纤维膜丝长度的增加,丝内气体的压降和富氮气体质量流量均有所增加;中空纤维膜空气分离制得的富氮气体质量流量越大,则所需进气的质量流量越大,且富氮气体氧气质量分数越高.      

飞机燃油氧气析出计算方法研究

为降低燃油箱发生爆炸的风险,需在油箱中设置抑爆系统。咨询通告规定,要计算燃油箱平均氧气浓度,需考虑燃油中的氧气析出。根据不同高度下空气在燃油中的溶解度平衡关系及空气中氧氮分压关系,得m飞机随飞行高度变化氧气析出的计算方法。     

军用飞机机载制氮系统研究

为了有效地提高军机燃油系统的安全性,本文对机载制氮系统用于燃油箱惰化的技术进行了研究,并与飞机燃油箱其它防火抑爆技术进行了比较.采用富氮空气进行燃油冲洗是除去燃油中溶解氧的常用方法,并基于常规气体混合关系,质量守恒方程和Ostwald系数建立了燃油冲洗分析模型,该模型可以确定油箱内无油空间氧浓度随时间变化的规律.     

多隔舱燃油箱惰化流场的数值模拟与分析

根据多隔舱燃油箱的特点,建立了适用于多隔舱燃油箱惰化流场的数值模拟方法.将数值模拟结果与工程模型结果及国外文献中的实验数据进行了对比,验证了该方法的正确性.通过对各个隔舱内氧气体积分数分布的分析发现,惰化过程中,各个隔舱内的氧气体积分数趋于均匀,流出某隔舱的气体的氧气体积分数近似等于该隔舱内的平均氧气体积分数.将数值模拟得到的两种流通方式下隔舱间气体体积流量分配情况与隔舱间流通面积比进行对比发现,当通气口相对于富氮气体进口对称布置时隔舱间体积流量能够近似按照面积比分配,而不对称布置时分配情况比较复杂,不能够简单地按照面积比确定.      

无人机油箱地面洗涤惰化性能

提出了无人机油箱地面洗涤惰化技术理论和方法,利用CFD方法研究了采用地面洗涤惰化技术降低油箱气相空间氧体积分数并使无人机油箱在地面和飞行条件下仍然保持惰化状态的可行性.利用vol-ume of fluid(VOF)两相流模型和自定义传质方程计算了不同油箱初始氧体积分数和载油率下气相空间氧体积分数的变化情况,结果表明:在...     

某中央翼燃油箱惰化流场的数值模拟及特性分析

在不同富氮气体入口参数下,对某大型运输机中央翼燃油箱的惰化过程进行了数值模拟,研究了在不同流量和体积分数富氮气体条件下燃油箱的惰化规律.计算结果显示:当富氮气体中氮气体积分数为95%、体积流量分别为0.021,0.028m3/s和0.042m3/s时,燃油箱内平均氧体积分数随体积置换次数的变化曲线几乎完全重合;当富氮气体体积流量为0.042m3/s、氮气体积百分比分别为92%,94%和98%时,燃油箱惰化率随时间的变化曲线重合.说明相同体积分数富氮气体条件下燃油箱惰化完成时所需富氮气体量与富氮气体流量无关,而富氮气体的流量直接决定了各舱室富氮气体的惰化率.通过对计算结果的分析,证明了利用缩比油箱去模拟真实油箱的惰化过程的合理性.为优化某运输机中央翼燃油箱惰化系统设计提供参考.      

民用飞机惰化系统架构权衡研究

基于单舱惰化冲洗模型理论,采用Matlab语言,针对民用飞机惰化系统设计开发出系统架构权衡分析工具,该工具后台程序除集成气源压力接口数据库、飞行参数自动生成模型和ASM真值表外,还包含根据落地燃油箱氧气浓度对下降阶段大流量模式下NEA最小流量的寻优算法,通过运用该工具,对全燃油箱惰化民机的惰化系统引气增压子系统形式、NEA流量、燃油箱通气形式、燃油箱极限氧气浓度对ASM数量和引气质量流量的影响进行定量研究,全面比较开式通气架构与闭式通气架构下惰化系统的性能特征,为飞机惰化系统架构设计提供一种工程方法参考。     

燃气分析法在高温升全环燃烧室 出口温度场试验中的应用

为了给某型高温升全环燃烧室的出口温度分布改进优化提供技术支持,采用燃气分析法和热电偶法2种测量方法测量出口温度场。燃气分析法通过2支5点非混合式取样器随旋转机构旋转1 80°,采集燃烧室出口600点样气,测量CO_2和CO_2种组分的体积分数进而计算燃气温度。在油气比0.03状态下,燃气分析法与热电偶法测量的燃烧室出口温度分布基本一致,在油气比0.037状态下,燃气分析法测到的热点温度达到2285 K,经误差分析得出CO_2和燃料热值的测量偏差对燃气分析法的温度测量影响较大,采用的燃气分析法测温系统总误差在1%以内。研究结果表明:燃气分析法是1种具有较高测试精度、可靠的高温测试技术。     

气体分配方式对多隔仓燃油箱地面惰化的影响

在各仓温度和压力为定常边界条件下,采用数值积分法,建立多仓燃油箱冲洗的数值模型,应用波音747中央翼燃油箱,通过将计算结果与国外文献中公布的实验数据进行比较,验证了模型具有较高的计算精度;然后,选择波音737中央翼燃油箱作为研究对象,采用惰化气体均匀和非均匀两种分配方式,在惰化气体流量按体积和数量两种分配方式下,计算出各隔仓氧气体积分数随时间及换气次数的变化关系,结果表明:要使各隔仓均惰化至目标氧气体积分数,按体积分配富氮气体的均匀进气方式所需的惰化时间最短,按数量分配的均匀进气方式所需的时间最长;由左舷、中弦、右弦整体平均氧气体积分数随换气次数的变化,可知非均匀进气方式优于均匀进气方式.      

一种利用富氮气体增压的涡轮增压惰化系统

为了提高惰化系统对引气的利用效率,提出利用富氮气体(Nitrogen Enriched Air,NEA)增压的涡轮增压惰化系统。系统利用 NEA的高压对动力涡轮进行膨胀做功,并利用轴功带动压缩机对进入空气分离器前的气体进行增压,以提高空气分离效果。相比于宽体飞机普遍采用的引气增压惰化系统,该系统可节约 23.1%~41.2%引气消耗量。进一步,基于国内某型空气分离器的性能,探讨了宽体飞机在巡航高度引气压力较低的现状下,利用 NEA涡轮增压系统实现双流量模式的具体设计过程。研究表明,利用涡轮增压技术提高 NEA纯度,能使 NEA的氧体积分数满足小流量、中流量和大流量阶段的特定要求,利用 NEA增压的涡轮增压惰化系统可以提高引气的利用效率,显著 降低 NEA的氧体积分数,提升惰化系统性能。     

民用飞机惰化系统富氮气体分配方案分析与研究

提出了飞机惰化系统富氮气体(nitrogen-enriched air,简称NEA)分配系统的主要设计要求,并以A320和波音737飞机为代表,分析了窄体机的NEA分配系统。进一步分析了波音787和A350飞机的惰化系统NEA分配方案,发现其采用限流孔、气体喷嘴、排气笛形管、引射器等相结合的方案来实现NEA在燃油箱内的快速均匀分配,然而这两种方案并不能根据各燃油箱气相空间的实时变化而及时、主动地调节气流量的大小。提出利用燃油液面进行自动流量调节的NEA分配方案,通过在油箱内布置垂直向下的排气管路,并在管路分支上不断增加排气孔来实现排气量随着燃油箱气相空间实时正向变化的目的,达到按照每个隔舱气相空间的变化,调节排气量和排气位置的效果。对比A350和波音787飞机的NEA分配方案的主要特点在于能够主动根据燃油箱内液面变化,及时调节NEA流量,以达到更好的快速、均匀分配的效果,值得进行深入的理论和试验研究。     

液体火箭贮箱增压排液过程三种气枕模型的数值对比

针对液氧贮箱氦气增压排液过程,分别建立了零维整体模型、一维分层模型及二维计算流体力学(CFD)模型对气枕物理场的变化规律进行数值研究.零维及一维模型采用经验公式求解气枕与壁面间的换热量,而二维CFD模型通过低雷诺数k-ε模型确定流体与固壁间的耦合换热作用.计算时氦气采用理想气体模型.利用三种模型分别预测了贮箱内气枕压力、气枕平均温度及温度分布规律.计算结果表明:三组结果分布合理,不同模型的结果之间能够互相印证;对于气枕及与气枕接触壁面沿轴向的温度分布,在气枕主体区一维模型与二维模型预测结果基本吻合,而在靠近消能器的气枕上端,两种模型预测值存在偏差;当增压气体入口速度较大时,气枕上端径向温度分层明显,需采用二维CFD模型才能展示气枕物理场分布.      

民机燃油箱惰化流场的数值仿真及其特性分析

根据民机燃油箱冲洗惰化过程的特点,基于FLUENT软件开发了一种用于燃油箱惰化流场数值仿真的计算方法。将方法的计算结果与国外文献中公布的理论模型计算结果和实验数据进行了对比,验证了方法的正确性。对两种采用不同喷口、通气口布置的矩形燃油箱的惰化过程进行了数值仿真计算,分别给出了惰化80 s和2 400 s时的氧浓度分布云图,并进行了对比分析,说明方法在优化设计喷口、通气口位置以达到最优的惰化性能方面有较大优势。     

Effect of fuel type on the performance of an aircraft fuel tank oxygen-consuming inerting system

The properties of aviation fuel have a great influence on the performance of oxygen-consuming inerting systems. Based on the establishment of the catalytic inerting process, the flow relationship of each gas component flowing through the catalytic reactor was derived. The mathematical model of the gas concentration in the gas phase of the fuel tank was established based on the mass conservation equation, and the fuel tank model was verified by performing experiments. The results showed that the fuel type exerts a considerably higher influence on the performance of the oxygen-consuming inerting system compared to the corresponding influence on the hollow fiber membrane system, and the relative magnitude of the inerting rates of the four fuel types is RP5 > RP3 > RP6 > JP8. In addition, a higher catalytic efficiency or fuel load rate corresponds to a higher rate of decrease of the oxygen concentration in the gas phase, and the inerting time is inversely proportional to the suction flow rate of the fan. When different fuels are used, the amount of cooling gas and water released from the inerting system are different. Therefore, the influence of fuel type on the system performance should be extensively considered in the future.