FIELD

This disclosure relates to cooling systems for use by aircraft, and more specifically, to cooling systems for aircraft that employ dry ice.

INTRODUCTION

When flying at high altitudes, modern aircraft employ air conditioning and air pressurization to maintain a comfortable environment for passengers. In general, outside air is permitted to enter an engine where it is compressed, and the hot compressed air is transported to onboard air conditioning units for cooling. The desired air temperature is achieved by mixing the cold conditioned air from the air conditioning unit with warm air, and the resulting regulated air is fed to a mixing unit that transports the air into the cabin and cockpit.

When the aircraft is stationary on the ground, however, the aircraft engines cannot be used in this way to power air conditioning systems. Some larger aircraft can instead employ auxiliary power units (APUs), or small powered generators that can provide power when needed for air conditioning and functions other than propulsion. Unfortunately, smaller aircraft and electrically-powered aircraft may not be able to employ an APU for air conditioning, due to weight and/or power limitations.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides apparatus, systems, and methods for providing cooled air to an aircraft using dry ice as a cooling agent.

In some embodiments, the disclosure provides an apparatus for providing cooled air within an aircraft, where the apparatus includes an insulated vessel containing a fluid coolant, a dry ice mill configured to mill dry ice into the fluid coolant, a dry ice hopper configured to store dry ice and feed the dry ice to the dry ice mill, a fluid coolant loop connecting the insulated vessel to a heat exchanger so that the fluid coolant may be delivered to the heat exchanger and returned to the insulated vessel, a pump operatively coupled with the fluid coolant loop to transport the fluid coolant through the fluid coolant loop, an agitator within the insulated vessel and coupled to the pump so that operation of the pump causes the agitator to agitate the mixture of fluid coolant and milled dry ice in the insulated vessel, and an air delivery system that conveys air across the heat exchanger and provides cooled air within the aircraft.

In some embodiments, the disclosure provides a system for providing cooled air within an aircraft, where the system includes an apparatus having an insulated vessel containing a heat transfer fluid, a dry ice mill to mill dry ice into the heat transfer fluid within the insulated vessel, a dry ice hopper to store dry ice and feed it to the dry ice mill, a fluid coolant loop connecting the insulated vessel and a heat exchanger to deliver the heat transfer fluid to the heat exchanger and return it to the insulated vessel, a pump coupled with the fluid coolant loop to transport the heat transfer fluid through the fluid coolant loop, and an agitator within the insulated vessel that is coupled to the pump so that operation of the pump causes the agitator to agitate the mixture of heat transfer fluid and milled dry ice within the insulated vessel. In addition, the system includes an air delivery system that conveys air across the heat exchanger and provides the cooled air within the aircraft, and a thermostat to operate the apparatus and provide air within the aircraft at a desired temperature.

In some embodiments, the disclosure provides a method of providing cooled air to an aircraft, the method including charging a dry ice hopper with dry ice, where the dry ice hopper is configured to feed the dry ice to a dry ice mill; milling the dry ice with the dry ice mill so that the milled dry ice is added to an insulated vessel containing a fluid coolant; agitating the mixture of fluid coolant and milled dry ice within the insulated vessel using an agitator disposed in the insulated vessel, cooling the fluid coolant; circulating the cooled fluid coolant through a fluid coolant loop using a pump, where the agitator is operatively coupled to the pump so that operation of the pump causes the agitator to agitate the mixture of fluid coolant and milled dry ice, where the fluid coolant loop delivers the fluid coolant to a heat exchanger and returns it to the insulated vessel; conveying air across the heat exchanger to cool the air; and providing the cooled air to the aircraft.

The disclosed features, functions, and advantages of the disclosed cooling apparatus, systems and methods may be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure, or may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.

