Patent Application
20130152975
The present disclosure relates generally to engine cleaning systems, and more particularly relates to aircraft engine cleaning systems that concurrently clean multiple engines.
Jet engines and turbine engines typically include turbine blades that are specially designed to maintain cooler temperatures in the blades. The turbine blades typically include channels formed therein through which fresh air is driven to cool the turbine blades. The fresh air flows through outlet holes on the turbine blades out into the hot gas flow surrounding the turbine blades. The relatively cool fresh air helps counterbalance the super high exhaust temperatures that the turbine blades are exposed to thereby protecting the blades from melting. As the engines operate, deposits begin to accumulate on the tips of the turbine blades in the area of the outlet holes of the fresh air channels. The deposits can sometimes occlude the air outlet holes, which results in hot spots forming on the tips of the turbine blades. Sometimes these hot spots develop into melted material and may even result in chunks of the blade dislodging, thus throwing the turbine out of balance. Further, as the deposits build up on the turbine blades, the aerodynamics of the turbine blades are modified, thus reducing the efficiency of the engine. As the efficiency goes down, the engine begins running hotter at a specific power output level.
The process of cleaning jet and turbine engines to remove these undesirable deposits is well known. Typically, a soap or detergent (also referred to as a gas path cleaner) is passed through the engine followed by a water rinse. An example cleaning system includes a pumping system that is connected to the engine with a plurality of hoses that draw cleaning and rinse fluids from tanks of various sizes. The process of setting up the cleaning system, including bringing all of this equipment into proximity to the engine, confirming proper set-up of the cleaning system and engine, operating the engine and cleaning system during the cleaning cycle, disconnecting the cleaning system, and resetting the engine is very time consuming. Opportunities exist for improvements in engine cleaning systems and methods.
One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a turbine engine cleaning system that includes a source of cleaning fluid, a source of rinse fluid, a pump configured to deliver the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid under pressure, and a wash harness. The wash harness is connected in flow communication with a plurality of turbine engines. The wash harness is configured to direct cleaning fluid from the source of cleaning fluid and rinse fluid from the source of rinse fluid to the plurality of turbine engines in sequence.
The wash harness may include a valve system that is operable to control the flow of cleaning fluid and rinse fluid from the wash harness to the plurality of turbine engines. The turbine engine cleaning system may include a first hose assembly connecting the wash harness to a first of the plurality of turbine engines, a second hose assembly connecting the wash harness to a second of the plurality of turbine engines, and a third hose assembly connecting the wash harness in flow communication with the pump. Each of the first, second and third hose assemblies may include at least one hose. The pump, source of cleaning fluid, and source of rinse fluid may be carried on a mobile cart, and the wash harness is portable relative to the mobile cart.
The turbine engine cleaning system may include a compressor configured to provide compressed air to the plurality of turbine engines. The cleaning fluid and rinse fluid may be directed to only one of the plurality of turbine engines at a time. One of the cleaning fluid and the rinse fluid may dwell in one of the plurality of turbine engines while one of the cleaning fluid and the rinse fluid is directed to another of the plurality of turbine engines. The cleaning fluid may comprise a detergent. The wash harness may be connected in flow communication with at least one of a compressor portion and a combustion portion of each of the plurality of turbine engines.
Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a turbine engine cleaning system that includes first and second hose assemblies, a pump system and a wash harness. The first hose assembly is connected in flow communication with a first turbine engine. The second hose assembly is connected in flow communication with a second turbine engine. The wash harness is connected in flow communication with the first and second hose assemblies and the pump system. The wash harness is operable to control flow of cleaning fluid and rinse fluid from the pump system to the first and second hose assemblies to clean the first and second turbine engines simultaneously.
The turbine engine cleaning system may include a first tank holding the cleaning fluid, a second tank holding the rinse fluid, and a mobile cart configured to carry the pump system and the first and second tanks. The first and second hose assemblies may each include a liquid hose connected to a cleaning inlet of the first and second turbine engines, and an air hose connected to an air inlet of the first and second turbine engines. The pump system may include a plurality of valves configured to control the flow of cleaning fluid and rinse fluid to and from the wash harness. The first hose assembly may be connected in flow communication with at least one of a compressor portion and a combustion portion of the first turbine engine, and the second hose assembly may be connected in flow communication with at least one of a compressor portion and a combustion portion of the second turbine engine.
A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of concurrently cleaning a plurality of turbine engines. The method includes providing a cleaning fluid, a rinse fluid, a pump, and a wash harness, connecting the wash harness in flow communication with the pump and the plurality of turbine engines, delivering the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid under pressure to the wash harness with the pump, and directing the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid to a first of the plurality of turbine engines and a second of the plurality of turbine engines with the wash harness to clean the first and second turbine engines.
The method may include spooling the first turbine engine before directing the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid to the first turbine engine, and spooling the second turbine engine before directing the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid to the second turbine engine. Directing the cleaning fluid and the rinse fluid may include delivering the cleaning fluid first followed by delivering the rinse fluid. Directing the cleaning fluid and the rinse fluid may include delivering the cleaning fluid to the first turbine engine, followed by delivering cleaning fluid to the second turbine engine, followed by delivering rinse fluid to the first turbine engine, followed by delivering rinse fluid to the second turbine engine.
Connecting the wash harness in flow communication with the first and second turbine engines may include connecting to at least one of an engine compressor and a combustion portion of the first and second turbine engines. The method may include permitting a dwell time to elapse between directing the cleaning fluid to the first and second turbine engines and directing the rinse fluid to the first and second turbine engines.
The foregoing and other features, utilities, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples of the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the invention.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for cleaning engines. One example embodiment is directed to an engine cleaning assembly that may be connected to multiple engines at the same time. The engine cleaning assembly may be used to perform a cleaning cycle for each of the engines. At least some portions of the cleaning cycle (e.g., cleaning, rinsing and cooling the starter engine) for the engines may occur concurrently. For example, the engine cleaning assembly may first deliver a cleaning fluid (e.g., a gas path cleaner) to a first engine. The engine cleaning assembly delivers a volume of the cleaning fluid to the second engine while the cleaning fluid is dwelling in the first engine. The engine cleaning assembly flushes the cleaning fluid from the first engine using a rinse fluid while the cleaning fluid is dwelling in the second engine. The cleaning fluid is flushed from the second engine with a rinse fluid while the rinse fluid is dwelling in the first engine. The rinse fluid is flushed from the first engine while the rinse fluid is dwelling in the second engine. The rinse fluid is then flushed from the second engine.
In other arrangements, both the first and second engines may be cleaned with cleaning fluid concurrently followed by rinsing both of the first and second engines either in series or concurrently. In some arrangements, no dwell period is needed for the rinse fluids in the engines. Many variations on the sequence of delivering fluids to the plurality of engines using an engine cleaning assembly are possible.
The present disclosure is also directed to use of a portable wash harness as part of an engine cleaning assembly. An engine wash system of the engine cleaning assembly may deliver various fluids (e.g., cleaning fluid, rinse fluid and pressurized air) to the wash harness, and the wash harness controls fluid flow to a plurality of engines that are connected in flow communication with the wash harness. The wash harness may include controls for controlling the fluid flow to each of the engines. The wash harness may include, for example, a harness or strap that facilitates carrying of the wash harness by a user and repositioning the wash harness relative to the engines being cleaned and the engine wash system.
In some arrangements, the engine cleaning assembly includes one engine wash system and a plurality of wash harnesses that are each coupled in flow communication with the wash system and a plurality of engines. In other arrangements, the flow control features of the wash harness are incorporated into the engine wash system. The engine wash system itself may be portable so as to be repositionable relative to the plurality of engines. In other embodiments, the engine wash system is stationary (e.g., a fixed mounting in a building such as a hanger where the aircraft is housed) and the mobile wash harness is mobile for easier access to the engines.
The ability to perform at least portions of the cleaning cycle for multiple engines concurrently using one engine cleaning assembly provides significant time savings compared to existing cleaning systems that connect to and clean one engine at a time. Further, in at least some scenarios, providing a portable wash harness with controls for controlling fluid flow to each of the plurality of engines may make it possible to reduce the number of personnel required to perform a cleaning cycle. The engine cleaning assembly disclosed herein may also provide improved efficiency in utilizing the features of the engine cleaning assembly within a given time period by eliminating some of the downtime that typically occurs while cleaning and rinse fluids dwell in the engine and the engine starter motors are allowed to cool between spooling.
Referring now to
The engine wash system 13 may include a cleaning fluid source 14, a rinse fluid source 16, controls 18, a pump 19, a compressor 20, and a cart 22. The components of engine wash system 13 may be carried on cart 22, which provides mobility for the engine wash system 13. The engine wash system 13 may include other fluid sources such as, for example, a reservoir of compressed air generated by compressor 20. The engine wash system 13 may also include a plurality of reels to collect the first, second and third hose assemblies 24, 26, 28.
Referring now to
Typically, the first and second cleaning output connectors 36, 38 and the first and second air output connectors 40, 42 are connected to hoses 24A,B and 26A,B of the first and second hose assemblies 24, 26, as shown in
Referring now to
Second control panel 50B shown in
The pump 19 and compressor 20 may be positioned internally within engine wash system 13 as shown in
The controls 118 may include a control panel 150 that includes gauges 152, a cleaning on/off valve 154, a source valve 156, a cleaning outlet connector 158, and an air outlet connector 162. The cleaning on/off valve 154 may control flow of cleaning or rinse fluids to the cleaning outlet connector 158 and a first hose 28A of the third hose assembly 28. The source valve 156 may control which of the cleaning and rinse fluids from the cleaning fluid source 14 and rinse fluid source 16, respectively, is delivered to the cleaning outlet connector 158. The second hose 28B may be connected to the air outlet connector 162 for flow communication with a source of compressed air provided by the compressor 120.
Referring now to
The wash harness 204 may be configured to control the flow of cleaning and rinse fluids delivered from the engine wash system 202 to each of the engines 206, 208, 210. The wash harness 204 may also be configured to control the flow of compressed air provided by the engine wash system 202 to any one of the engines 206, 208, 210. The wash harness 204 may be portable relative to the engine wash system 202 and the engines 206, 208, 210.
The wash harnesses 304A, 304B represent any number of wash harnesses (e.g., two or more) that may be connected to engine wash system 302. Each of the wash harnesses 304A, 304B may be connected to any desired number of engines such as at least one engine of a single aircraft or at least one engine of each of a plurality of aircraft.
The engine wash system 302 may include separate controls for controlling the flow of cleaning and rinse fluids and compressed air to each of the wash harnesses 304A, 304B. In some configurations, a single valve or controller controls the flow of cleaning and rinse fluids and compressed air to all of the wash harnesses connected to the engine wash system 302.
Referring to
The wash harnesses and engine wash systems of
An example application of the engine cleaning assemblies described herein involves cleaning a pair of turbine engines of a helicopter (e.g., the aircraft 70). When the helicopter turbine engines are cleaned, a crew of personnel is typically required for the operation. This crew includes a pilot, crew chief and, in some scenarios, a fire guard. These three people coordinate the wash operations via an aircraft intercom system (ICS). First and second hose assemblies are connected to either the compressor manifold of the engines to perform a compression section cleaning, or to nozzles that are connected to ports where the engine igniters have been removed to perform a hot section cleaning. Alternatively, both the hot section and compressor sections may be connected to and cleaned simultaneously.
The pilot spools the first engine with the engine starter and notifies the crew chief over the ICS when the required engine RPM is achieved. The crew chief then operates the wash harness to introduce gas path cleaner to the first engine for a specified period of time (e.g., about 1 min. to about 3 min.). The gas path cleaner typically requires a dwell period in the range of about 5 min. to about 30 min., and more preferably in the range of about 10 min. to about 15 min. to allow the chemicals to act upon the deposits on the turbine blades. The pilot spools down the engine during the dwell period.
The pilot then spools the second engine and notifies the crew chief over the ICS when the required engine RPM is achieved. The crew chief then operates the wash harness to introduce gas path cleaner into the second engine for the specified period of time. The pilot then spools down the second engine while the gas path cleaner dwells in the second engine.
Once the dwell period for the first engine has expired, the pilot spools the first engine and notifies the crew chief over the ICS when the required RPM is achieved. The crew chief then operates the wash harness to introduce rinse fluid into the first engine for the specified period of time. The first engine is then spooled down and, once the dwell time for the second engine expires, the pilot spools the second engine. The pilot notifies the crew chief over the ICS when the required engine RPM is achieved for the second engine and the crew chief operates the wash harness to introduce the rinse fluid into the second engine for the specified period of time. The second engine is then spooled down.
Another rinse cycle may be performed for each of the first and second engines by spooling the engine and introducing an additional flow of rinse fluid for a specified period of time followed by spooling down the engine and waiting for completion of a dwell period.
This process (i.e., a cleaning cycle) of introducing gas path cleaner followed by at least one rinse cycle may be repeated for each engine. Any desired number of rinse cycles may be performed for each cycle of introducing the gas path cleaner. The cleaning cycle may be performed separately or concurrently for the compressor section and hot section of each of the engines.
In addition to the dwell period for the gas path cleaner, the rinse fluid may also require a dwell period. An example dwell period for the rinse fluid may be in the range of about 2 min. to about 10 min., and more preferably about 2 min. to about 5 min. In addition to the dwell periods for the gas path cleaner and rinse fluids, the engine starter motor may also be required to cool down each time the engine is spooled. A starter duty cycle may vary with different aircraft. A typical duty cycle may include:
The cool down periods may extend the amount of time required to perform the cleaning cycle. Providing two or more engines connected to the wash harness of the engine cleaning assembly may permit ongoing operation of the engine cleaning assembly during dwell times of the gas path cleaner and rinse fluid as well as cooling periods for the starter motor.
Returning again to the helicopter cleaning example, the helicopter is typically returned to service and operated under power immediately after the cleaning operation is completed in order to dry the first and second engines. A health indicator test (HIT) is also typically performed to verify that full power has been restored to the engines or if further cleaning is required or recommended.
In some applications such as the helicopter cleaning described above, the mobile wash harness allows the crew chief to be stationed away from the engine wash system. Since the wash manifold is portable, the crew chief may also be mobile and thereby assume the responsibility of the fire guard who typically roams the aircraft and engine cleaning assembly. In this example, the use of the mobile wash harness may eliminate one person from the engine wash process.
Another advantage related to the use of the engine cleaning assembly and the compressed air provided by the engine wash system relates to the operation of air controlled features of the engine. For example, jet engines may have a number of air connections to the engine electronics. Each of these air connections are typically detached from the engine and sealed in order to protect the electronics from fluid intrusion during the cleaning process. Once the air connections and engine ports have been sealed, the seals are required to be inspected before the cleaning cycle is started. The process of cleaning multiple engines of an aircraft is more efficiently completed by making all of the connections to all the aircraft engines at the same time so that one inspection can be completed, as opposed to connecting the wash system to a single engine that requires inspection followed by connection to the other engine at a later time that requires a separate inspection.
Further, many aircraft engines include engine air bands that must be closed during the wash operation to maintain the wash fluids inside the engine. The compressed air provided by the engine cleaning assembly may be connected to multiple air band actuators of the engines. Supplying compressed air operates the air band actuators to maintain closure of the air bands to help maintain the wash fluids inside the engine during the cleaning cycle. Typically, the compressed air is provided by the engine cleaning assembly to the engines prior to and sometimes during delivery of the cleaning and rinse fluids to the engines. In one example, the crew chief operates the wash harness to deliver the compressed air to one or both of the first or second engines of aircraft 70 prior to or after the pilot spools an engine and before delivery of the cleaning fluid or rinse fluid by operation of the wash harness.
The engine cleaning assembly may be configured to flush the cleaning fluid through the first, second and third hose assemblies as part of completing a cleaning cycle for the engines. A single hose may be used for delivering both cleaning and rinse fluids. Typically, the cleaning fluid is first delivered through the hose followed by delivery of the rinse fluid as part of the engine cleaning cycle. The delivery of the rinse fluid flushes the cleaning fluid from the hose and wash harness.
The cleaning and rinse fluids typically are not reclaimed back to the engine wash system, but are rather flushed out of the engines onto the ground or into a fluid reclamation system positioned and arranged to capture the cleaning and rinse fluids as they leave the engine. Some engine cleaning assemblies may include a closed loop cleaning system that reclaims the cleaning and rinse fluids back from the engine to the engine wash system.
Referring now to
Additional steps of method 500 may include delivering the cleaning or rinse fluids concurrently from the wash harness to the first and second engines. The method 500 may include providing dwell times for at least one of the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid in each of the first and second engines. The method 500 may include spooling the first and second engines and waiting to complete cool off periods after spooling down the engines before spooling the engines again between delivery of the cleaning and rinse fluids.
Referring to
Other steps of method 600 may include, for example, spooling up the first and second engines prior to delivering the cleaning and rinse fluids. The method 600 may include delivering the cleaning or rinse fluids in sequence to the first and second engines. The method 600 may include delivering one of the cleaning fluid and rinse fluid to the second engine during a dwell period for the cleaning fluid or rinse fluid in the first engine.
Referring to
Other steps may be included in method 900 including, for example, spooling up the first engine prior to step 904 and spooling down the first engine prior to step 906, and spooling up the second engine prior to step 906 and spooling down the second engine before step 908. Other steps of method 900 may include spooling up the first engine before step 908 and spooling down the first engine before step 910, and spooling up the second engine before step 910 and spooling down the second engine after step 910. The method 900 may include connecting a wash harness in flow communication between the engine wash system and the first and second engines. The method 900 may include controlling delivery of the cleaning and rinse fluids to the first and second engines with the wash harness.
Other steps of method 1000 may include, for example, providing the cleaning fluid, rinse fluid and compressed air to the wash harness using an engine wash system. The compressed air may be directed to the first or second engine prior to directing cleaning fluid and rinse fluid to the first or second engine. Method 1000 may also include spooling up and spooling down the first and second engines prior to and after directing the cleaning fluid and rinse fluids to the first or second engine.
Any of the methods and steps shown and described with reference to
The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate and describe exemplary embodiments of the invention. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims.
