Vehicles, environmental control systems, and methods for operating an environmental control system are provided. In one example, the environmental control system (ECS) includes an ECS refrigeration unit that is configured to receive ambient air and a first portion and a second portion of hot bleed air. The ECS refrigeration unit is operable to indirectly exchange heat between the first portion of the hot bleed air and the ambient air to form a partially cooled, hot air stream, and to compress, further indirect heat exchange, and expand the partially cooled, hot air stream to form a cooled and expanded air stream. A low limit valve control regulates a low limit valve to control a rate of introduction of the second portion of the hot bleed air to the cooled and expanded air stream to form a combined air stream that when exiting the ECS refrigeration unit is a sub-freezing air stream.

Aircraft systems including a pressurized fuel tank containing a pressurized fuel, a turbo expander configured to receive the pressurized fuel from the fuel tank, the turbo expander configured to decrease a pressure of the pressurized fuel to generate low pressure fuel having pressure less than the pressurized fuel, a fuel-to-air heat exchanger configured to receive the low pressure fuel from the turbo expander as a first working fluid and air as a second working fluid, the heat exchanger configured to cool the air and warm the fuel, an aircraft cabin configured to receive the cooled air, and a fuel consumption system configured to consume the fuel to generate power.

An aircraft system includes a turbine engine having a compressor, a combustor having an inlet and an outlet, and a turbine having an inlet portion and an outlet portion. An auxiliary power unit (APU) is operatively connected to the turbine engine. The APU includes a compressor portion, a generator, and a turbine portion. The compressor portion is operatively connected to the turbine portion through the generator. A source of cryogenic fluid is operatively connected to the turbine engine and the APU. A heat exchange member includes an inlet section operatively connected to the source of cryogenic fluid, a first outlet section operatively connected to the turbine engine and a second outlet section operatively connected to the compressor portion.

A system for providing active flow control in an aircraft having a gas turbine engine. The system includes an environmental control system that includes a cabin blower system having a compressor operable to compress a fluid delivered by a fan section of the gas turbine engine to generate a pressurised fluid for use by the environmental control system. The environmental control system is fluidicly connected to an active flow control system via a fluid supply line, for allowing the pressurised fluid generated by the compressor to be supplied to the active flow control system so that it can be ejected from the aircraft across an exterior surface of a movable control element of the aircraft.

A pressurization system includes a first compressor that receives a ram air, a fan air, or engine air; a first turbine that is on a common shaft with the first compressor and wherein the first turbine receives an engine air; a main heat exchanger downstream of the first compressor and the first turbine; an internal environment suitable for human occupants and downstream of the main heat exchanger; a second turbine downstream of the internal environment; the second turbine may be on the common shaft with the first compressor and first turbine; or a generator downstream of the second turbine; a motor downstream of the generator; and wherein the motor drives the first compressor.

An air conditioning pack of a cooling system includes an air cycle machine assembly, a cabin air compressor assembly, and a mixing duct. The air cycle machine assembly includes a compressor configured to receive an air stream that includes bleed air to generate a compressed air stream. The air cycle machine assembly utilizes a first portion of the compressed air stream to power the compressor. The cabin air compressor assembly receives a second portion of the compressed air stream, and utilizes the second portion to generate compressed ram air. The mixing duct receives the compressed ram air and allows the compressed ram air to mix with one or more of the air stream upstream of the compressor or the compressed air stream downstream of the compressor to generate a hybrid air stream that is used for cooling at least a portion of a vehicle.

An air conditioning system that is designed to be retroactively added to, and removed from, an existing aircraft, vehicle, boat or similar confined space. The air conditioning system includes a cooler module that is carried into a first compartment to circulate and cool the air. The cooler module contains a condenser, an evaporator and a compressor. A heat exchanger module is mounted into a vented second compartment. The heat exchanger is capable of exchanging heat with the ambient air. The heat exchanger module is connected to the cooler module with tubes that contain a heat exchanger fluid. In order for the tubes to pass through a compartment barrier, fluid couplings are mounted through the barrier. The tubes connect to the fluid couplings on either side of the barrier. A control unit is provided within the pressurized cabin and/or cockpit for controlling the operations of the cooler module.

A method for managing power drawn from power units of propulsion units of an aircraft, wherein the method includes a step of increasing the amount of power drawn from a second power unit that is time shifted, with respect to a step of increasing the amount of power drawn from a first power unit, for a duration that at least allows the operational state or the non-operational state of the first power unit to be determined. This solution allows simultaneous switching to the non-operational state of the two power units to be avoided.

A pressurized air supply unit (1; 1′) for an aircraft, comprising: a load compressor (30; 30′) configured to supply pressurized air (3), the load compressor (30; 30′) having a compressor shaft (23; 23′); and a drive portion (10) configured to supply power via an output shaft (20); the pressurized air supply unit (1; 1) being characterized in that it comprises: a gearbox (50); an electric motor (40), the electric motor (40) being coupled to said compressor shaft (23; 23′) via the gearbox (50); and a coupling system (25) configured to enable the output shaft (20) to drive the compressor shaft (23; 23′) and to prevent the compressor shaft (23; 23′) from driving the output shaft (20), and in that the output shaft (20) and the compressor shaft (23) lie on the same axis.

An integrated multimode thermal energy transfer system, method and apparatus for full-scale clean fuel electric-powered multirotor aircraft with automatic on-board-capability to provide sensor-based temperature awareness and adjustment to critical components and zones of the aircraft. Automatic computer monitoring, including by a programmed triple-redundant digital autopilot computer, controls each motor-controller and motor to produce pitch, bank, yaw and elevation, while simultaneously measuring, calculating, and adjusting temperature and heat transfer of aircraft components and zones, to protect critical components from exceeding operating parameters and to provide a safe, comfortable environment for occupants during flight. By using the results of the measurements to inform computer monitoring, the methods and systems can use byproducts including thermal energy disparities and differentials related to both fuel supply systems and power generating systems to both add and remove heat from different aircraft zones to improve aircraft function, comfort, and efficiency.