Parker Aerospace has signed an agreement with Phyre Technologies to further develop a catalytic inerting system for improved aircraft fuel tank safety. The concept looks to take the technology beyond current applications in which inert nitrogen is generated by pressurizing air separation modules with engine-generated bleed air.
Using Phyre’s patented processes for catalytic inerting, ullage air and fuel vapors are pulled from the tank and passed through a catalyst, producing inert oxygen-depleted air (ODA). The inert ODA is then cooled and dried before being reintroduced to the fuel tank to inert the unoccupied space.
“Bleeding engines to supply a conventional ASM-based inerting system can be particularly burdensome for aircraft powered by engines that have little or no bleed air available, such as turboshafts (helicopters), small turbofans (business jets and UAVs) and turboprops,” said Bryan Jenson, Parker’s principle engineer for fuel tank inerting. “Catalytic inerting holds the promise of generating inert gas on board the aircraft with a system that does not require a source of high-pressure air.”
This new process, which is considered “green” because the system minimizes unburned hydrocarbons vented into the atmosphere, follows on Phyre’s research, which has resulted in successful demonstrations of the company’s on-board inert gas generation system (Green OBIGGS) on military applications.
Parker (Hall 4 Stand E50) has also unveiled a new family of customizable cooling pumps featuring a common core of basic motor and pump components. Compatible with a variety of dielectric and heat transfer fluids, the pumps are available in both AC and DC configurations with fixed or variable speed versions to accommodate a variety of flow rates. Additionally, the pump package incorporates a wet-motor design that allows the fluid to extract heat from the electronics or the sensor suite, while simultaneously removing heat from the pump motor itself, useful according to the manufacturer, in situations that require low convective or conductive heat dissipation within enclosed areas.
On the eve of the Farnborough show, the company announced that it has been selected by Rolls-Royce to support development of the Trent 7000 engine for the Airbus A330neo. Parker will supply the main engine-oil pumps and tanks, the fuel nozzles and manifolds as well as pneumatic control devices.
In anticipation of this year’s possible first flight of China’s Comac C919 jetliner, Parker was the first supplier on the project to have completed full endurance spectrum testing on the more than 60 types of components it will be supplying for the delayed program. The tests demonstrate the components can deliver operational performance as specified for the life of the airplane. The Parker Hannifin subsidiary is providing all three independent hydraulic systems, primary flight control systems (including the horizontal tail trim system); fuel gauging and management system; fuel-tank inerting system; and landing gear.
To support the Comac affiliation, the Parker has established two Chinese joint-ventures. The first is with the AVIC Jincheng Nanjing Engineering Institute of Aircraft Systems (NEIAS), known as NEIAS Parker Aero Systems Equipment (NPASE), it was founded to provide engineering, manufacturing, assembly and testing for fuel supply and management, fuel tank inerting, hydraulic power products and service as well as final assembly and tests for the C919 and other Chinese domestic aircraft projects such as the MA700.
Parker recently announced that the other joint venture has begun operations after achieving Part 145 certifications from Chinese and U.S. authorities. The partnership is with Avic Flight Automatic Control Research Institute (FACRI), and is called Parker FACRI Actuation Systems. It will also provide engineering support, final assembly and testing for the project as well as support for flight control, hydraulic, fuel and inerting equipment produced by Parker and other manufacturers, from its location at Xi’an, China.
This week, the company is announcing the launch of its new customer care initiative, consisting of a centralized global customer response center (CRC) in Irvine, California, which will support all commercial and airline customers, and five warehouse and parts distribution centers strategically located around world.