Power Consumption Analysis of Rotorcraft Environmental Control Systems

摘要

Helicopters have now become an essential part for civil and military activities, for the next few years a significant increase in the use of this mean of transportation is expected. Unlike many fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters have no need to be pressurized due to their operating at low altitudes. The Environmental Control Systems (ECS) commonly used in fixed-wing aircraft are air cycle systems, which use the engine compressor’s bleed flow to function. These systems are integrated in the aircraft from inception. The ECS in helicopters is commonly added subsequently to an already designed airframe and power plant or as an additional development for modern aircraft. Helicopter engines are not designed to bleed air while producing their rated power, due to this a high penalty in fuel consumption is paid by such refitted systems. A detailed study of the different configurations of ECS for rotorcraft could reduce this penalty by determining the required power resulting from each of the system configurations, and therefore recommend the most appropriate one to be implemented for a particular flight path and aircraft.This study presents the conducted analysis and subsequent simulation of the environmental control system in a selected representative rotorcraft: the Bell206L-4. This investigation seeks to optimize the rotorcraft’s power consumption and energy waste; by taking into consideration the cabin heat load. It consequently aims to minimize these penalties, achieving passenger comfort, an optimally moist air for equipment and a reduction in the environmental impact.For the purpose of this analysis a civil aircraft was chosen for a rotary-wing type. This helicopter was analysed with different air-conditioning packs complying with the current airworthiness requirements. These systems were optimized with the inclusion of different environmental control models, and the cabin heat load model, which provided the best air-conditioning for many conditions and mission scopes, thus reducing the high fuel consumption in engines and hence the emission of gases into the environment. Each of the models was computed in the Matlab-simulink® software.Different case studies were carried out by changing aircraft, the system’s configurations and flight parameters. Comparisons between the different systems and sub-systems were performed. The results of these simulations permitted the ECS configuration selection for optimal fuel consumption. Once validated the results obtained through this model were included in Rotorcraft Mission Energy Management Model (RMEM), a tool designed to predict the power requirements of helicopter systems.The computed ECS model shows that favourable reductions in fuel burn may be achievable if an appropriated configuration of ECS is chosen for a light rotorcraft. The results show that the VCM mixed with engine bleed air is the best configuration for the chosen missions. However, this configuration can vary according to the mission and environment.