Aircraft Recirculation Filter for Air-Quality and Incident Assessment

Eckels, Steven J.; Jones, Byron W.; Mann, Garrett W.; Mohan, Krishnan R.; Weisel, Clifford P.

doi:10.2514/1.c032458

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Lower level leakage related to system design is often viewed as normal, safe and acceptable, associated with minor discomfort only, with increased levels due to wear or failure possibly affecting occupant health and flight safety [30]. Fume events are said to range from rare and serious smoke events to "simple dirty socks smells" [33], whilst improved seals lead to concentrations of oil in the bleed air being "negligible" [30]. Some suggest that air is safe and meets all the applicable regulatory standards [34], however hazards associated with the oils are recognised [15] [35]- [41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aircraft Clean Air Requirements Using Bleed Air Systems

Michaelis

2018

ENG

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There are certification and airworthiness requirements relevant to the provision of clean breathing air in the crew and passenger compartments. There have been continuing reports and studies over the years regarding oil fumes in aircraft, including impaired crew performance. Oil fumes are viewed in varying ways ranging from rare seal bearing failures, to low level leakage in normal flight. A Masters of Science (MSc) research degree was undertaken to assess whether there is any gap between the certification requirements for the provision of clean air in crew and passenger compartments, and the theoretical and practical implementation of the requirements using the bleed air system. A comprehensive literature search reviewed applicable certification standards, documented and theoretical understanding of oil leakage. Two types of interviews were conducted to address the research questions. Key aviation regulators were questioned about the process by which they certify and ensure compliance with the clean air requirements. Aerospace engineers and sealing professionals were interviewed about their understanding of how oil may leak past compressor oil bearing seals, and into the air supply under various flight conditions. The outcome of the research showed that there is a gap between the clean air certification requirements, and the theoretical and practical implementation of the requirements using the bleed air system. Low level oil leakage into the aircraft cabin in normal flight operations is a function of the design of the engine lubricating system and bleed air systems, both utilising pressurised air. The use of the bleed air system to supply the regulatory required air quality standards is not being met or being enforced as required.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aircraft Clean Air Requirements Using Bleed Air Systems

Michaelis

2018

ENG

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“…Aerosolized lubricating oil was injected into the airflow upstream of the compressor and the particulate characteristics were measured downstream of the heated tube. Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used in the analysis [9].…”

Section: Bleed Air Simulatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contamination source identification is very difficult and would require multiple occurrences inside aircraft cabins [10]. Eckels et al [9] recommended analyzing the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters used with the air recirculation ducts of aircraft in nearly all commercial aircraft. This procedure and technique would provide a chemical map database or library for contamination particles found on HEPA filters and ultimately inside aircraft cabins.…”

Section: Bleed Air Characterization Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Quality and Airflow Characteristic Studies for Passenger Aircraft Cabins

Shehadi¹

2019

Indoor Environment and Health

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This chapter summarizes the work done at the Airliner Cabin Environment Research Lab (ACERL) related to air quality, airflow characteristics, and human thermal comfort inside aircraft cabins. The laboratory is part of the Institute for Environmental Research (IER) at Kansas State University. It has a Boing 767 mockup cabin, bleed air simulator, and a Boeing 737 actual aircraft section that were all utilized to conduct experimental studies to understand air quality inside aircraft cabins. The studies summarized in this chapter include particle image velocimetry (PIV) investigations, particle dispersion, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, tracer gas and smoke visualization studies, and bleed air investigations. The chapter also summarizes other related studies including virus dispersion, air quality monitoring devices, and related developed air quality standards. The scope of this chapter is to summarize the setup and results of each of the above categories. This summary along with the cited references provides results for full size aircraft cabin environments, helps validate data for CFD simulations, and provides comparison data for other similar studies. This helps improve the design of future aircraft cabins and their ventilation systems and recommends changes to maintenance practices done that can improve the health and safety of humans inside these enclosed compartments.

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“…Measurements reported were a maximum of 9 ppm of CO, a maximum of 380 lg/m 3 of particulates, and semivolatile organic compounds were under normal detection limits. Given the difficulty for capturing bleed air contamination events in real time, Eckels et al (2014) investigated the ability to assess incidents through chemical analysis of material captured on cabin recirculation filters. They first used a laboratory bleed air simulator to create oil-contaminated air, which was then directed to a filter test stand to expose aircraft filter media to the contaminated air.…”

Section: Evaluation Of Bleed Air Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of the frequency and nature of bleed air contamination events in commercial aircraft

2015

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Contamination of the bleed air used to pressurize and ventilate aircraft cabins is of concern due to the potential health and safety hazards for passengers and crew. Databases from the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and other sources were examined in detail to determine the frequency of bleed air contamination incidents. The frequency was examined on an aircraft model basis with the intent of identifying aircraft make and models with elevated frequencies of contamination events. The reported results herein may help investigators to focus future studies of bleed air contamination incidents on smaller number of aircrafts. Incident frequency was normalized by the number of aircraft, number of flights, and flight hours for each model to account for the large variations in the number of aircraft of different models. The focus of the study was on aircraft models that are currently in service and are used by major airlines in the United States. Incidents examined in this study include those related to smoke, oil odors, fumes, and any symptom that might be related to exposure to such contamination, reported by crew members, between 2007 and 2012, for US-based carriers for domestic flights and all international flights that either originated or terminated in the US. In addition to the reported frequency of incidents for different aircraft models, the analysis attempted to identify propulsion engines and auxiliary power units associated with aircrafts that had higher frequencies of incidents. While substantial variations were found in frequency of incidents, it was found that the contamination events were widely distributed across nearly all common models of aircraft.

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Aircraft Recirculation Filter for Air-Quality and Incident Assessment

Cited by 9 publications

References 8 publications

Aircraft Clean Air Requirements Using Bleed Air Systems

Aircraft Clean Air Requirements Using Bleed Air Systems

Air Quality and Airflow Characteristic Studies for Passenger Aircraft Cabins

Characterization of the frequency and nature of bleed air contamination events in commercial aircraft

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