The ECOSYSTEM project will design, fabricate and demonstrate at TRL 5 a high performance inert gas fire suppression system to be used as a Halon-free cargo hold fire protection. The demonstrator will store the inert gas in lightweight composite pressure vessels. Once the cylinder valves are opened, the high and low discharge of inert gas will be controlled to ensure required flow rates for knock-down and long term suppression of fire. The TRL 5 demonstrator will include safety features to allow the safe operation and will contain all of the necessary instrumentation to characterize the static and transient conditions during its operation.
There are international regulations requiring that Halon 1301 be phased out from new production aircraft by 2040, in accordance with the deadlines laid out in EC Regulation 1005/2009 and subsequent amendments.
The ECOSYSTEM project is organised to achieve the following objectives.
- Develop a set of requirements and KPIs with the TM.
- Develop and assess system architecture options with respect to optimal placement and integration into the demonstrator to ensure high efficiency while meeting the requirements
- Design the system components to meet requirements.
- Perform trade studies to evaluate the various component options for cylinders, pressure regulators, metering units and valves based on weight, volume, safety impact, certification complexity
- Perform a thorough safety/risk analysis at system level. In addition, risk and opportunity analyses, safety assessments and industrialization plans will be generated to support this project
- Model performance of the demonstrator from the pressure vessels to the delivery nozzles using modelling tool such as CFD, thermal analysis and stress analysis
- Characterize system performance by physical measurement at the component and system level at LHO lab and use results to validate the models
- Test prototype at Fraunhofer in an actual cargo hold at and evaluate its performance across a wide range of temperatures and pressures, simulating flight conditions.