Clean Sky/Airbus Flight Lab Completes Electrical Environment Control (EEC) System Flight Test

AirbusliebherrEEC_251x192The new electrical environmental control system of Liebherr-Aerospace was successfully tested during the first flight of the Clean Sky/Airbus Flight Lab in June 2016.  The success was celebrated during a ceremony organised by Airbus, in Toulouse (France) on July 7, 2016, with all partners involved.

 

On June 3, 2016, the Airbus Flight Lab, an A320, successfully completed its first flight in Toulouse within the scope of the “Systems for Green Operations (SGO) Platform”, a major research and innovation action founded by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking under the EU Framework Program 7. The aim of the flight was to test the extensive on-board electrical systems under real conditions. One of these is the Electrical Environmental Control System (E-ECS) developed by Liebherr-Aerospace Toulouse SAS, Toulouse (France), Liebherr’s centre of excellence for air management systems.

 

The E-ECS is a key element of the thermal and power management process for the more electrical aircraft. It is equipped with a new type of motorised turbo compressor (50 kW) which enables it to use directly external air (bleed less) for air conditioning in an integrated approach. The power electronics ensure the speed control of the motorised turbo compressor and offer synergy capabilities with other electrical loads to optimise the overall electrical power consumption on board the aircraft.

 

Nathalie Duquesne, Director of R&T at Liebherr-Aerospace in Toulouse, explained: “With the flight test campaign of the Airbus Flight Lab we were able to validate the mechanical and electrical integration of our E-ECS in a single aisle aircraft platform. We can monitor the interaction between air intake and the turbo-compressors and evaluate the robustness and performance of our system in all operating conditions. The flight test campaign was successfully achieved on June 24, 2016, and the results meet our expectations and are very promising”

 

The E-ECS developed and manufactured by Liebherr-Aerospace will contribute to fuel burn reduction and greenhouse gas emissions contributing to the environmental objectives.

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