A propulsion system includes an electric fan propulsion motor with a plurality of propulsion motor windings. The propulsion system also includes a means for controlling a flow rate of a working fluid through a cryogenic working fluid flow control assembly to the propulsion motor windings. The propulsion system further includes a controller operable to control supplying a pre-cooling flow of the working fluid from a cryogenic liquid reservoir through the cryogenic working fluid flow control assembly to the propulsion motor windings.

A system for an aircraft includes an engine bleed source of a gas turbine engine. The system also includes a means for chilling an engine bleed air flow from the engine bleed source to produce a chilled working fluid. The system further includes a means for providing the chilled working fluid for an aircraft use.

An apparatus for separating air, comprising a double column, means for sending air to the purification unit at a pressure that is no more than 1 bar higher than atmospheric pressure, a pipe for sending a first air flow, the first air flow having been purified in the purification unit, to the heat exchanger at a fourth pressure that is no more than 1 bar higher than the second pressure, a pipe for sending the first purified air flow, which has been cooled in the heat exchanger, to the second column for separation, and a booster compressor, the apparatus not comprising any means for depressurizing the first flow.

A method for temperature-controlled delivery of the gaseous product at temperatures at or below ambient in the event of an air separation unit failure. In one embodiment, a first portion of a stored cryogenic liquid product is sent to the back-up vaporizer and heated to ambient conditions, and a second portion of stored cryogenic liquid product, which is at the cryogenic storage temperature, bypasses the back-up vaporizer using a bypass line controlled by a bypass valve and is mixed with the vaporized gas. This mixed stream will then preferably go through a static mixer in order to get to an homogenous temperature that is below the ambient temperature. A temperature control loop can be used to adjust the opening of the by-pass valve in order to reach the desired product temperature.

An apparatus for the distillation of air by cryogenic distillation is provided. The apparatus can include an enclosure; a first distillation column configured to operate at a first pressure; a second distillation column configured to operate at a second pressure that is lower than the first pressure, the second distillation column being placed above the first distillation column and forming therewith a double column; a subcooling heat exchanger configured to cool at least one liquid from the first distillation column upstream of the second distillation column and configured to warm a gaseous nitrogen stream from the second distillation column; and an argon column configured to separate an argon enriched stream from the second distillation column and configured to produce an argon rich stream. In certain embodiments, the first distillation column, the second distillation column, the argon column and the subcooling heat exchanger are disposed within the enclosure, and/or the subcooling heat exchanger is disposed directly underneath the first distillation column or the argon column.

The air separation system can include: a process control unit 201 for controlling components constituting the air separation system; an oxygen concentration estimating unit 202 for estimating, by calculation, the oxygen concentration of oxygen-enriched liquid that accumulates in a column bottom portion of the higher-pressure column; a flow rate estimating unit for estimating, by calculation, the flow rate of oxygen-enriched liquid that has been discharged from the column bottom portion of the higher-pressure column and that is to be introduced into a distillation portion of the lower-pressure column; and a target temperature calculating unit for calculating a target temperature of an argon extraction portion on the basis of the flow rate of feed air that has passed through at least a portion of the main heat exchanger 1 and that is to be sent to an expansion turbine, the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched liquid, and the flow rate of the oxygen-enriched liquid.

Method for separating air by cryogenic distillation, wherein at least part of the air to be distilled is boosted in an air booster, compressed air is allowed to expand in at least one expansion turbine and, if the pressure drop between two points of the booster passes under a threshold and/or a flow of the booster passes under a minimum flow of the booster, part of the air boosted in the booster is allowed to expand without having been cooled between the booster and the expansion turbine and the boosted expanded air is sent upstream or downstream of the at least one turbine, without having been cooled in the heat exchanger, after having been boosted.

A cryogenic air separation apparatus comprises: a heat exchanger, a first rectification column, a first condenser, a second rectification column, a third rectification column, a second condenser, a high-purity oxygen rectification column, a third condenser, a nitrogen compressor, and a compressed recycled gas line L52 for introducing product nitrogen gas compressed by the first nitrogen compressor into a warm end (heat source) of an ultra-high-purity oxygen vaporizer as a compressed recycled gas.

Method for separating air by cryogenic distillation, wherein air is compressed in a compressor and is subsequently sent to a heat exchanger, with the air cooled in the exchanger being sent to a check valve downstream of the heat exchanger and subsequently to a turbine, the valve being positioned so that air from a short-circuiting duct cannot return to the exchanger from the compressor.

An apparatus for the distillation of air by cryogenic distillation is provided. The apparatus can include an enclosure; a first distillation column configured to operate at a first pressure; a second distillation column configured to operate at a second pressure that is lower than the first pressure, the second distillation column being placed above the first distillation column and forming therewith a double column; a subcooling heat exchanger configured to cool at least one liquid from the first distillation column upstream of the second distillation column and configured to warm a gaseous nitrogen stream from the second distillation column; and an argon column configured to separate an argon enriched stream from the second distillation column and configured to produce an argon rich stream. In certain embodiments, the first distillation column, the second distillation column, the argon column and the subcooling heat exchanger are disposed within the enclosure, and/or the subcooling heat exchanger is disposed directly underneath the first distillation column or the argon column.