An Integrated Tool Environment Supporting Product-Line Engineering of Embedded Applications Domain

Not Available Many types of military and commercial aircraft rely on the use of high-pressure oxygen cylinders to provide respiratory oxygen to crew members during emergency conditions. These cylinders require frequent replenishment to top off the oxygen gas lost during testing, inspection or use. Maintenance crews must refill cylinders on the ground. Cylinders are removed from the aircraft for refilling or are refilled in place using land based equipment. The procedures are time consuming, expensive and hazardous. There is a real danger of accidents and fire as a result of oxygen cylinder refilling. The overall goal of this program is to develop an aircraft oxygen generator for trickle-charging high-pressure gaseous oxygen supplies. The Phase I feasibility program will attempt to provide a conceptual design of the proposed system using a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) based electrochemical stack as oxygen generator. A bench-top model capable of generating oxygen at a rate of 1 liter per minute will be built and tested to provide performance data. A study of compressor technology that can meet the requirements of size, weight and input power for this application will be conducted and a conceptual design for aircraft system would be presented.