Control Strategy for Helicopter Thermal Management System Based on Liquid Cooling and Vapor Compression Refrigeration

Miao Zhao, Liping Pang, Meng Liu, Shizhao Yu and Xiaodong Mao
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Miao Zhao: School of Aviation Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA), Beijing 100191, China
Liping Pang: School of Aviation Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA), Beijing 100191, China
Meng Liu: School of Aviation Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA), Beijing 100191, China
Shizhao Yu: AVIC Xinxiang Aviation Industry (Group) CO, LTD, Xinxiang 453049, China
Xiaodong Mao: School of Aero-engine, Shenyang Aerospace University, Shenyang 110136, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-26

Abstract: With the continuous application of high-power electronic equipment in aircraft, highly efficient heat transfer technology has been emphasized for airborne applications. In this paper, a thermal management system based on an antifreeze liquid cooling loop and a vapor compression refrigeration loop is presented for high-power airborne equipment in a helicopter. The simulation models of the thermal management system are built in order to study its control strategy for the changing flight conditions. The antifreeze-refrigerant evaporator and air-refrigerant condenser are specially validated with the experimental data. A dual feedforward proportion integration differentiation and expert control algorithm are adopted in the inlet temperature of the cold plate and sub-cooling control of the refrigerant by regulating the compressor speed and the fan speed, respectively. A preheating strategy for antifreeze is set up to decrease its flow resistance in cold day conditions. The control strategy for the thermal management system is finally built based on the above control methods. In this paper, two extreme conditions are discussed, including cold and hot days. Both the simulation results show that the superheated, sub-cooling and antifreeze inlet temperature of the cold plate can be controlled at 3 to8 °C, −10 to −3 °C and 18 to22 °C, respectively. Under the same changing flight envelope, the coefficient of performance of the vapor compression refrigeration loop is relatively stable on the cold day, which is about 6, while it has a range of 2.58–4.9 on the hot day.

Keywords: high-power; thermal management system; antifreeze liquid cooling; vapor compression refrigeration; control strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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