Deoxygenated fuel-cooled environmental control system pre-cooler for an aircraft

Abstract

A fuel based thermal management system according to the present invention includes a fuel stabilization system which permits the fuel to exceed the traditional coking temperatures. An air-to-fuel heat exchanger operates as an environmental control system (ECS) pre-cooler such that the heat from the engine compressor bleed air is rejected into the fuel to maintain engine operating efficiency.

1 . A thermal management system comprising: 
 a fuel stabilization system;    a liquid-to-air heat exchanger system in fluid communication with said fuel stabilization system; and    an environmental control system in communication with said liquid-to-air heat exchanger system.    
   
   
       2 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said fuel stabilization system comprises a deoxygenation system.  
   
   
       3 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said liquid-to-air heat exchanger is in communication with compressed air from an Energy Conversion Device.  
   
   
       4 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein said Energy Conversion Device is an aircraft gas turbine engine.  
   
   
       5 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said liquid-to-air heat exchanger is a fuel-to-air heat exchanger.  
   
   
       6 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said liquid-to-air heat exchanger operates to reduce a temperature of a compressed air to approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  
   
   
       7 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said liquid-to-air heat exchanger operates to reduce a temperature of a compressed air to approximate a liquid inlet temperature of said liquid-to-air heat exchanger system.  
   
   
       8 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein said liquid-to-air heat exchanger operates with fuel at temperatures exceeding 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  
   
   
       9 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said environmental control system communicates airflow to an aircraft cabin.  
   
   
       10 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said environmental control system communicates airflow to an electronic device.  
   
   
       11 . The thermal management system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein fuel from said liquid-to-air heat exchanger is in communication with a combustor section of a gas turbine engine.  
   
   
       12 . A method of thermal management comprising the steps of: 
 (1) deoxygenating a fuel to provide a deoxygenated fuel;    (2) communicating the fuel through a liquid-to-air heat exchanger system;    (3) communicating a compressed air from an energy conversion device through the liquid-to-air heat exchanger system to reject heat from the compressed air to the deoxygenated fuel; and    (4) communicating the compressed air from the liquid-to-air heat exchanger to an environmental control system.    
   
   
       13 . A method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein said step ( 3 ) further comprises the step of: 
 drawing the compressed air from a compressor section of a gas turbine engine.    
   
   
       14 . A method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein said step ( 3 ) further comprises the step of: 
 rejecting heat to the deoxygenated fuel to raise the temperature of the fuel to above approximately 325 degrees Fahrenheit.    
   
   
       15 . A method as recited in  claim 14 , further comprising the steps of: 
 communicating the deoxygenated fuel from the liquid-to-air heat exchanger system to a combustor section of a gas turbine engine.