Aircraft air conditioning heat exchangers and atmospheric fouling

This paper describes how the aircraft’s air-conditioning system functions, such as those on the A320 including the components within the system. The need for an air-conditioning system requirement is explained, including the use of external air flow from outside to act as a cooling source (known in technical aviation terms as “ram” air). The A320 electronic controls are included in addition to the flight deck selections under normal operations and when the needs for higher levels of ventilation are required. The published literature identified indicates that the fouling and environmental pollution can affect the aircraft Environmental Control Systems is very limited, as there are few published or known materials about the particulate matter fouling / deposited on aircraft systems.

Fouling collected from large commercial aircraft is analysed using different techniques to identify the potential source emission and composition. This paper addresses the failures of the ECS due to fouling, identifies the potential sources of fouling and operational measures that may effect this safety critical systems operation.