Honeywell unveils lighter, more efficient cooling system for UAM and electric aircraft
Honeywell has unveiled a new thermal management system which has been specifically designed for air taxi, vertical-takeoff and electric aircraft.
The Micro Vapor Cycle System (MicroVCS) is a lightweight, low-maintenance and energy-efficient, and uses advanced technology to generate cold air or liquid to cool cabins, electronic components and batteries.
The product is the latest in a series of products Honeywell is developing specifically for urban air mobility and electric aircraft. Others include the Compact Fly-by-Wire System, the RDR-84K Radar, actuators, and lightweight inertial navigation systems.
Tom Hart, Vice President and General Manager, Air & Thermal Systems, Honeywell Aerospace, said: “Aircraft in the emerging UAM or all-electric categories will need to be lightweight and avoid significant downtime for maintenance. It will also be extremely important to maintain battery temperature and ensure passenger comfort.
“Our new MicroVCS is up to 35 per cent lighter and 20 per cent more efficient than existing systems, which helps address these major concerns.”
Next month, the MicroVCS will be incorporated into Eviation’s Alice aircraft, where it will be used to cool the cabin and avionics of the all-electric plane.
In 2019, Alice was named among the best inventions of the year by Time magazine, and it is intended to be the world’s first commuter aircraft that will run entirely on electric power.
Omer Bar-Yohay, CEO at Eviation, added: “In an all-electric aircraft, every ounce counts, so we needed an efficient way to provide cooling comfort for passengers in our fleet without adding excessive weight.
“Our adoption of the MicroVCS will ensure better aircraft uptime and reduce our overall operating costs while enhancing our passengers’ experience.”
Today’s aircraft vapor cycle systems comparable to the MicroVCS are heavier and oil-based, while also requiring periodic maintenance. This can contribute to aircraft being out of service — a challenging dynamic when aircraft are expected to be available on-demand, take off, fly and land dozens of times each day.
The MicroVCS is lighter and completely oil-free with fewer moving parts, so it needs virtually no maintenance over the life of the system.
Thousands of passenger, cargo and military aircraft worldwide are currently flying with Honeywell’s environmental, air and thermal systems onboard.
Now, the company is building upon its decades of experience developing these systems to help bring about a new generation of aircraft while maintaining the same emphasis on safety and onboard comfort.
To learn more about the MicroVCS, visit aerospace.honeywell.com.
