Orthogonal Air Quality Sensor Suite (OAQSS)

Makel Engineering, Inc. (MEI) and the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) are developing an Orthogonal Air Quality Sensor Suite (OAQSS) which combines selective solid state chemical sensors with a miniature ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) to monitor the quality of the breathing air produced by the On-Board Oxygen Generating Systems (OBOGS).In addition to chemical species, the OAQSS includes pressure, temperature and dew point measurements.Aircraft equipped with OBOGS provide aircrew breathing oxygen using molecular sieves and Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology.The OBOGS selectively filters aircraft's engine bleed air to remove nitrogen (N2) and gaseous contaminants to provide the aircrew with an oxygen (O2) enriched breathing gas.When the bleed air has excessive levels of toxic contaminants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrocarbons (HCs) due to ingestion of jet exhaust from other aircraft during shipboard operations, or fumes from engine fluids, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tricresyl phosphates (TCPs), and fluorocarbons (FCs), the contaminants may breach the OBOGS and enter the aircrews oxygen supply. In addition, ozone (O3) is another compound of concern at high altitudes.