Thermal management system with fuel cooling
Systems and methods for operating systems are provided. For example, a system comprises a coolant flowpath having a coolant flowing therethrough, a cooling system for cooling the coolant disposed along the coolant flowpath, a fuel flowpath having a fuel flowing therethrough, a heat exchanger fluidly connected to the coolant flowpath and the fuel flowpath for heat transfer between the coolant and the fuel to cool the fuel, and a fuel tank for accumulating the cooled fuel. The fuel is in thermal communication with a first thermal load to cool the load. An exemplary method comprises flowing a heat exchange fluid along a flowpath; flowing a fuel along a fuel flowpath including a fuel tank; passing both the heat exchange fluid and fuel through a heat exchanger to cool the fuel; and controlling the fuel flow from the heat exchanger to the fuel tank for accumulation of the cooled fuel.
1. A system, comprising:
a coolant flowpath containing a coolant having a thermal capacity TC cool , the coolant flowpath including a cooling system configured to cool the coolant and a coolant-cooled thermal load L cool ;
a fuel flowpath containing a fuel having a thermal capacity TC fuel , the fuel flowpath including a fuel tank for accumulating the fuel and a fuel-cooled thermal load L fuel ;
a coolant-fuel heat exchanger in thermal communication with the fuel and coolant such that heat flows from the fuel to the coolant to cool the fuel; and
a controller configured to control a flow F tank of the fuel from the coolant-fuel heat exchanger to the fuel tank for accumulation of the cooled fuel and a flow F use of the fuel to a fuel use location such that F tank /F use >1 when TC cool >L cool and F tank /F use <−0.50 when L fuel >TC fuel .
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant is in thermal communication with the coolant-cooled thermal load L cool to cool the coolant-cooled thermal load L cool .
3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second fuel tank, the fuel flowing to the fuel flowpath from the second fuel tank.
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a thermal transport flowpath having a thermal transport fluid flowing therethrough; and
a coolant-transport heat exchanger for heat transfer between the coolant and the thermal transport fluid, the coolant-transport heat exchanger fluidly connected to both the coolant flowpath and the thermal transport flowpath,
wherein the thermal transport fluid is in thermal communication with a transport-cooled thermal load to cool the transport-cooled thermal load.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the coolant-fuel heat exchanger and the coolant-transport heat exchanger are arranged in series with respect to the coolant flowpath.
6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a first three-way switching valve disposed proximate the coolant-transport heat exchanger; and
a second three-way switching valve disposed proximate the coolant-fuel heat exchanger,
wherein a position of each of the first three-way switching valve and the second three-way switching valve may be changed to reverse a flow direction of the coolant with respect to the coolant-transport heat exchanger and the coolant-fuel heat exchanger.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling system is a refrigeration system and the coolant is a refrigerant.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling system is configured to reduce a temperature of the coolant below a temperature of the fuel.
9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a fuel valve disposed in the fuel flowpath,
wherein the fuel valve is configured to control the flow of fuel between the fuel tank and the fuel-cooled thermal load L fuel .
10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a thermal transport flowpath having a thermal transport fluid flowing therethrough; and
a coolant-transport heat exchanger for cooling the thermal transport fluid,
wherein the thermal transport fluid is used to cool a transport-cooled thermal load, and
wherein the coolant-fuel heat exchanger and the coolant-transport heat exchanger are arranged in parallel.
11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a thermal transport flowpath having a thermal transport fluid flowing therethrough; and
a coolant-transport heat exchanger for cooling the thermal transport fluid,
wherein the thermal transport fluid is in thermal communication with a transport-cooled thermal load to cool the transport-cooled thermal load, and
wherein the coolant-fuel heat exchanger and the coolant-transport heat exchanger are arranged in series.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant flowpath is a closed loop flowpath.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant-fuel heat exchanger includes the fuel tank for accumulating the fuel.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the cooling system is an air-based cooling system and the coolant is air.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is disposed in a vehicle, the vehicle comprising:
a turbine engine including a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section arranged in serial flow order, the turbine engine defining a turbine engine inlet upstream of the compressor section and a turbine engine exhaust downstream of the turbine section; and
a fuel delivery system for providing a flow of the fuel to the combustion section of the turbine engine, the fuel delivery system comprising a main fuel tank,
wherein the system is in flow communication with the main fuel tank and engine bleed air from the turbine engine.
16. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a thermal transport flowpath having a thermal transport fluid flowing therethrough;
a fuel-transport heat exchanger for heat transfer between the fuel and the thermal transport fluid to cool the fuel, the fuel-transport heat exchanger fluidly connected to both the fuel flowpath and the thermal transport flowpath,
wherein the thermal transport fluid is in thermal communication with a transport-cooled thermal load to cool the transport-cooled thermal load.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the fuel-cooled thermal load L fuel is in thermal communication with the transport-cooled thermal load for heat transfer between the fuel flowpath and the thermal transport flowpath.
18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the fuel-transport heat exchanger includes the fuel tank.
19. A method of operating a system, the method comprising:
flowing a coolant along a coolant flowpath, the coolant flowpath including a cooling system such that the coolant passes through the cooling system to cool the coolant, the coolant flowpath further including a coolant-cooled thermal load L fuel ;
flowing a fuel along a fuel flowpath, the fuel flowpath including a fuel tank for accumulating the fuel and a fuel-cooled thermal load L fuel ;
passing both the coolant and the fuel through a coolant-fuel heat exchanger to cool the fuel;
controlling the flow of the fuel from the coolant-fuel heat exchanger to the fuel tank for accumulation of the cooled fuel; and
controlling the flow of the fuel from the coolant-fuel heat exchanger to a fuel use location,
wherein the coolant has a thermal capacity TC cool and the fuel has a thermal capacity TC fuel ,
wherein the flow of the fuel includes a flow F tank of the fuel to the fuel tank and a flow F use of the fuel to the fuel use location, and
wherein the flow of the fuel is controlled such that F tank /F use >1 when TC cool >L cool .
20. A method of operating a system, the method comprising:
flowing a coolant along a coolant flowpath, the coolant flowpath including a cooling system such that the coolant passes through the cooling system to cool the coolant, the coolant flowpath further including a coolant-cooled thermal load L cool ;
flowing a fuel along a fuel flowpath, the fuel flowpath including a fuel tank for accumulating the fuel and a fuel-cooled thermal load L fuel ;
passing both the coolant and the fuel through a coolant-fuel heat exchanger to cool the fuel;
controlling the flow of the fuel from the coolant-fuel heat exchanger to the fuel tank for accumulation of the cooled fuel; and
controlling the flow of the fuel from the coolant-fuel heat exchanger to a fuel use location,
wherein the coolant has a thermal capacity TC cool and the fuel has a thermal capacity TC fuel ,
wherein the flow of the fuel includes a flow F tank of the fuel to the fuel tank and a flow F use of the fuel to the fuel use location, and
wherein the flow of the fuel is controlled such that F tank /F use <−0.50 when L fuel >TC fuel .
21. A system, comprising:
a coolant flowpath containing a coolant having a thermal capacity TC cool , the coolant flowpath including a cooling system configured to cool the coolant and a coolant-cooled thermal load L cool ;
a fuel flowpath containing a fuel having a thermal capacity TC fuel , the fuel flowpath including a fuel tank for accumulating the fuel and a fuel-cooled thermal load L fuel ;
a coolant-fuel heat exchanger in thermal communication with the fuel and coolant such that heat flows from the fuel to the coolant to cool the fuel; and
one or more valves automatically actuated by a change in temperature, a change in pressure, or a change in both temperature and pressure to control a flow F tank of the fuel from the coolant-fuel heat exchanger to the fuel tank for accumulation of the cooled fuel and a flow F use of the fuel to a fuel use location such that F tank /F use >1 when TC cool >L cool and F tank /F use <−0.50 when L fuel >TC fuel .