Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – A Short Engineering Explanation

AIRCRAFT DESIGN AND SYSTEMS GROUP (AERO) Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – A Short Engineering Explanation Press Meeting 10 Years German Wings "Cabin Air Contamination Event" (CACE): 2010-12-19 Online, HAW Hamburg, 2020-12-18 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18072295 Dieter Scholz Hamburg University of Applied Sciences 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 2 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Contents Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – An Aeronautical Engineering Perspective •Introduction •Jet Engine Oil •Air Conditioning Technology •Jet Engine Technology •Engineering Design Principles from SAE •The Legal Problem •Solution: Bleed Free Design; during transition: Filters •Summary •Contact 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 3 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Introduction Fume Event on US Airways Flight 432 Phoenix to Maui in 2010 Video on: https://youtu.be/AZqeA32Em2s Note: Smell events (without fumes) are much more frequent than fume events. Health effects have been reported from smell events alone (where patients never encountered a fume event) . 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 4 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Definition: Cabin Air Contamination Event (CACE) In a Cabin Air Contamination Event (CACE) the air in the cabin and/or cockpit of an aircraft is contaminated. Sensation of the contamination can be from vison (fume/smoke), olfaction (smell/odor), a combination of typical symptoms experienced by several passengers and/or or crew or by related measurements of CO, CO2, ozon or other "harmful or hazardous concentrations of gases or vapours" (CS-25.831). Typical symptoms following a CACE (ECA 2017) Detach the definition from merely human sensation. Allow also drastic health degradation to define the event. Objective measurements would certainly be best, but are usually not available. Introduction 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 5 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Jet Engine Oil - Ingredients (Cannon 2016) This warning was changed in 2004 (Michaelis 2012) to: "This product is not expected to produce adverse health effects under normal conditions of use ... Product may decompose at elevated temperatures ... and give off irritating and/or harmful ... gases/vapours/fumes. Symptoms from acute exposure to these decomposition products in confined spaces [aircraft cabin] may include headache, nausea, eye, nose, and throat irritation." (Exxon 2016a) TCP Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) FIRST AID MEASURES, INHALATION Remove from further exposure [in a fume event?]... Use adequate respiratory protection [not available for passengers!]. If respiratory irritation, dizziness, nausea, or unconsciousness occurs, seek immediate medical assistance. If breathing has stopped, assist ventilation with a mechanical device or use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. (Exxon 2016a) Judging Jet Engine Oil Based on Warnings Given by Manufacturer 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 6 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) How Do We Know about Oil in the Cabin? Oil has left traces on its way from the engine to the cabin interior: 1. Oil traces in bleed duct 2. Oil traces in air conditioning ducts 3. Oil traces in recirculation filters 4. Oil traces on cabin surfaces (wall panels, seats, ...) Evidence collected in: Scholz 2017 Jet Engine Oil - On Its Way 1. 2. 3. 4. 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 7 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Air Conditioning Technology (dm/dt)in (dm/dt)out low pressure "normal" pressure 1) compress the air 2) cool the air => Temperature Control 3) release the air => Pressure Control: out > in: pressure goes down in > out: pressure goes up Air Conditioning Basics Temperature Control, Pressure Control, Ventilation Adapted from (NRC 2002) from the engine (unfiltered) 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 8 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Air Conditioning with Recirculation Adapted from (NRC 2002) HEPA Filter HEPA-Carbon Filter Air Conditioning Technology from the engine (unfiltered) Add Filter Here! 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 9 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Air Conditioning Technology Complete Air Conditioning System Lufthansa 2015 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 16 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Solution Boeing 787 (Boeing 2007) The "Pack" of the B787's Environmental Control System (ECS) is powered by electric motors (M) to compress ambient air up to cabin pressure and to push the air through the heat exchangers (HX) for cooling. The power for the electric motors is produced by generators (SG) connected to the aircraft's engine and APU. After compression and cooling the air is delivered to the cabin. Solution: Compress Outside Air – Bleed Free Design 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 17 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Airbus – A Solution Exists, but Is Not Applied! Solution: Compress Outside Air – Bleed Free Design Liebherr 2016 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 18 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Summary • Frequent Cabin Air Contamination Events (CACEs) show: There is a real problem: o engines leak oil by design, o oil can be traced on its way from the engine into the cabin, ... • There is a legal problem / Democracy corrupted? • Technical solution: Bleed-free architecture with direct air intake and dedicated compressor • Short term partial technical solution: Carbon filter: a) in the duct to the cabin and b) attached to the recirculation filter suitable for retrofit Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – An Aeronautical Engineering Perspective 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 19 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) Contact [email protected] http://www.ProfScholz.de http://CabinAir.ProfScholz.de Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – An Aeronautical Engineering Perspective 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 20 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) References Assuntos Militares 2013 Assuntos Militares: Engine Alliance GP7000 (picture), 2013. – URL: https://goo.gl/images/gYIW31; http://www.assuntosmilitares.jor.br/2013/01/pratt-fornecera-turbinas-embraer.html Boeing 2007 Sinnett, Mike: 787 No-Bleed Systems: Saving Fuel and Enhancing Operational Efficiencies. In: Boeing: AERO, 2007, No. 4, Art. 2, pp. 6-11. – URL: http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_4_07/article_02_1.html Cannon 2016 Cannon, Frank: Aircraft cabin air contamination and aerotoxic syndrome – A review of the evidence. In: Collegium Basilea: Nanotechnology Perceptions, Vol. 12 (2016), pp. 73-99, https://doi.org/10.4024/N08CA16A.ntp.12.02. – Download: URL: http://skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/3594.pdf Childs 2017 Childs, Peter RN: Jet Engine Internal Air Systems. Presentation. International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference 2017, Imperial College London, 19.-20.09.2017. EASA CS-25 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): Certification Specification (CS-25) "Large Aeroplanes", 2017. – URL: https://www.easa.europa.eu/certification-specifications/cs-25-large-aeroplanes Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – An Aeronautical Engineering Perspective 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 21 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) References EASA CS-E European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): Certification Specifications (CS-E) "Engines", 2020. – URL: https://www.easa.europa.eu/certification-specifications/cs-e-engines ECA 2017 European Cockpit Association (ECA): ECA Guidelines on Smoke & Fume / Smell Events, 2017. – URL: https://www.eurocockpit.be/sites/default/files/2017-06/Guidelines on smoke, fume, smell events, ECA 2017.pdf Exxon 2016a EXXON: Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS): Mobile Jet Oil II, 2016. – URL: http://www.msds.exxonmobil.com/IntApps/psims/Download.aspx?ID=743589 Exxon 2016b EXXON: Jet Engine Oil System, Part 2: Bearing Sump Lubrication, 2016. – URL: https://www.exxonmobil.com/en/aviation/knowledge-library/resources/jet-engine-oil-system-2 Flitney 2014 Flitney, Robert K.: A Description of the Types of High Speed Rotary Shaft Seals in Gas Turbines Engines and the Implications for Cabin Air Quality. In: Journal of Biological Physics and Chemestry, vol. 14 (2014), no. 4, pp. 85-89. – URL: https://doi.org/10.4024/17FL14R.jbpc.14.04 (Abstract), Open Access: https://bit.ly/2Uc8hnG Liebherr 2016 Liebherr: Electrical Environmental Control System of Liebherr Successful during First Flight of Clean Sky/Airbus Flight Lab, Press Release, 2016-07-15. – URL: https://www.liebherr.com/en/aus/latest-news/news-pressreleases/detail/electrical-environmental-control-system-of-liebherr-successful-during-first-flight-of-clean-sky-airbusflight-lab.html 10 Years German Wings: 19.12.2010 Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg Dieter Scholz: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air 18.12.2020, Slide 22 Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO) References Lufthansa 2015 L ufthansa: Lufthansa-Spotlight #2: Kabinenluft, 2015. – URL: https://bit.ly/36fctIr Michaelis 2012 Michaelis, Susan: Aircraft Cabin Air Contamination - Health & Flight Safety Implications, Lecture at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, 2012-11-08, DGLR / RAeS / VDI, Lecture Notes, 2012. – URL: http://hamburg.dglr.de (Vorträge 2. Halbjahr 2012) NRC 2002 National Research Council: The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew, 2002. – Committee on Air Quality in Passenger Cabins of Commercial Aircraft, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. ISBN: 0-309-56770-X. Download from: National Academies Press, URL: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10238.html SAE AIR 1168-7 Standard SAE AIR 1168-7, Aerospace Pressurization System Design, 2011 (first edition 1991, A in 2011). – URL: https://doi.org/10.4271/AIR1168/7, https://saemobilus.sae.org/content/AIR1168/7, https://saemobilus.sae.org/content/AIR1168/7A Scholz 2017 Scholz, Dieter: Aircraft Cabin Air and Engine Oil - A Systems Engineering View. Presentation: Hamburg Aerospace Lecture Series (DGLR, RAeS, VDI, ZAL, HAW Hamburg), Hamburg, Germany, 2017-04-27. – URL: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1237858 How to quote this document: SCHOLZ, Dieter: Contaminated Aircraft Cabin Air – A Short Engineering Explanation. Press Meeting, Online, HAW Hamburg, 2020-12-18. Available from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18072295.