Search

EP-4365081-B1 - AN AIRCRAFT COMPRISING A HIGH-PRESSURE WATER SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

EP4365081B1EP 4365081 B1EP4365081 B1EP 4365081B1EP-4365081-B1

Inventors

  • LÜBBERT, TIM
  • SCHREINER, AXEL
  • Rempe, Michael

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20180328

Claims (15)

  1. An aircraft (19) with a drinking water supply and distribution system (1, 41, 63), the drinking water supply and distribution system (1, 41, 63) comprising: at least one water storage tank (3), at least one consumer equipment (5, 7, 9), at least one pressurization means (11), at least one pressure reducer (13, 15, 17), a conduit system (21) connecting the at least one water storage tank (3) to the at least one consumer equipment (5, 7, 9) via the at least one pressurization means (11) and adapted to supply water from the at least one water storage tank (3) to the at least one consumer equipment (5, 7, 9), wherein the at least one pressurization means (11) is provided for pressurizing water in the conduit system (21), and generating a peak pressure of water in the conduit system (21) which exceeds a supply water pressure threshold, wherein each of the at least one consumer equipment (5, 7, 9) is associated with one of the at least one pressure reducer (13, 15, 17), wherein the at least one pressure reducer (13, 15, 17) is provided for reducing the pressure of water supplied by the conduit system (21) to an associated consumer equipment (5, 7, 9) such that the pressure does not exceed a consumer water pressure threshold, wherein the supply water pressure threshold exceeds the consumer water pressure threshold characterised in that the conduit system (21) comprises flexible conduits having a maximum internal diameter of less than 8 mm and wherein the supply water pressure threshold exceeds the consumer water pressure threshold at least by a factor of 5.
  2. The aircraft (19) according to claim 1, wherein the supply water pressure threshold exceeds the consumer water pressure threshold by at least by a factor 10, preferably at least by a factor of 20, more preferably, the supply water pressure threshold exceeds the consumer water pressure threshold by a factor in the range of 5 to 50.
  3. The aircraft (19) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the at least one pressure reducer (13, 15, 17) comprises a buffer (33, 37), wherein the buffer (33, 37) of the at least one pressure reducer (15, 17) is provided for storing water supplied by the conduit system (21) from the at least one water storage tank (3) and wherein water stored in the buffer (33, 37) of the at least one pressure reducer (15, 17) is supplied to the at least one consumer equipment (7, 9) associated with the at least one pressure reducer (15, 17) at a pressure not exceeding the consumer water pressure threshold.
  4. The aircraft (19) according to any of claim 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the at least one consumer equipment (5, 7, 9) comprises a buffer (39), wherein the buffer (39) is provided for storing water supplied by the conduit system (21) from the at least one water storage tank (3) and wherein water is stored in the buffer (39) of the at least one consumer equipment (5) at a pressure not exceeding the consumer water pressure threshold.
  5. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein no means are provided for actively heating the flexible conduits (26) of the conduit system (21).
  6. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the consumer water pressure threshold is 8.6 bar and preferably 2.75 bar.
  7. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the supply water pressure threshold is 50 bar, more preferably 100 bar and most preferably 150 bar.
  8. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible conduits (26) of the conduit system (21) have a maximum internal diameter of 7 mm and preferably have a maximum diameter of 3 mm.
  9. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the conduit system (21) comprises a drainage valve and is connected to a high pressure gas source, wherein pressurized gas from the high pressure gas source can be fed into the conduit system (21) for draining the conduit system (21).
  10. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one pressurization means (11) comprises a low pressure stage (65) and a high pressure stage (67), wherein the low pressure stage (65) is provided for pressurizing water fed to the high pressure stage (67).
  11. The aircraft (19) according to claim 10, wherein the low pressure stage (65) is formed by a low pressure pump (71) and a conduit loop (69), wherein the conduit loop (69) is adapted to allow a circular flow in a flow direction from the drinking water storage tank (3) through the low pressure pump (71) into the drinking water storage tank (3) and wherein the high pressure stage (67) of the at least one pressurization means (11) branches off from the conduit loop (69) at a feed point (78) arranged in the flow direction between the low pressure pump (71) and the drinking water storage tank (3).
  12. The aircraft (19) according to claim 11, wherein the low pressure stage (65) comprises a flow restrictor (75), wherein the flow restrictor (75) is arranged in the conduit loop (65) in the flow direction behind the feed point (78) for restricting the flow of water in the conduit loop (65) between the feed point (78) and the drinking water storage tank (3).
  13. The aircraft (19) according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the low pressure stage comprises filtration means (73) for filtering the drinking water before the drinking water is fed from the low pressure stage (65) to the high pressure stage (67).
  14. The aircraft (19) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the water supply and distribution system (41) comprises a low pressure section (45) and a high pressure section (43), wherein the high pressure section (43) of the water supply and distribution system (41) is formed by the conduit system (21), wherein the low pressure section (45) of the water supply and distribution system (41) comprises a low pressure pipework (51) connecting the at least one water storage tank (3) to at least one consumer equipment (49), wherein the at least one consumer equipment (49) connected to the at least one water storage tank (3) by the low pressure pipework (51) is not connected to the at least one water storage tank (3) by the conduit system (21), and wherein a peak pressure of water in the low pressure pipework does not exceed the consumer water pressure threshold.
  15. The aircraft (19) according to claim 14, wherein the at least one pressurization means (11) comprises a low pressure stage (65) and a high pressure stage (67), wherein the low pressure stage (65) is provided for pressurizing water fed to the high pressure stage (67) and the low pressure section (45) of the water supply and distribution system (41).

Description

The present invention relates to an aircraft comprising a water supply and distribution system. Water supply and distribution systems are provided on all passenger aircraft. They are used to distribute fresh water from a water storage tank to all kinds of consumer equipment. Examples of consumer equipment that is supplied with fresh water are washbasins or flushes in the aircraft lavatory or kitchen sinks in aircraft galleys. A prior art water supply and distribution system is described in DE 42 27 516 A1. The system comprises a water storage tank connected to consumer equipment by an arrangement of water pipework. The water in the pipework is pressurized up to a consumer water pressure threshold such that water can be directly taken from the pipework at the washbasins or kitchen sinks. Since distances of 60 m or more have to be covered in aircraft and sufficient water has to be supplied even at distances that are far from the drinking water storage tank, the pipework requires a sufficiently large internal diameter or cross-section. Using pipework with a large diameter also has the advantage that the pressure drop along the length of the pipework is rather small. Therefore, it is not necessary to use multiple pumps across the supply and distribution system to keep the water pressure sufficiently high. The pipework for water supply and distribution systems is commonly arranged beneath the floor of the passenger cabin. Here generally sufficient space is available to provide the pipework with a continuous slope to enable draining. However, since many other elements also need to be installed in the area below the passenger cabin, the actual space available for routing the pipework is very limited. Given that the pipework has to be provided with a continuous slope for drainage purposes, the design of the layout of the pipework has proven to be a cumbersome and complex process in the past. Drainage of the pipework is required as the rigid pipes may burst if the water in them freezes. US 2012 / 151 666 A1 discloses a toilet system for a vehicle with a toilet unit and a decentralized supply device comprising a flushing agent tank which may be filled with water. The flushing agent tank is pressurized and connected to the toilet unit via a flushing agent line. In the flushing agent line a pressure reducer is installed. US 5,062,456 A discloses a kink-resistant potable water hose with a small bend radius. The tube may have an inner diameter of between 6.35 mm (0.25 inches) and 38.1 mm (1.5 inches). In view of the above it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved water supply and distribution system taking into account the generic problems of such water supply and distribution systems. This object is achieved by a water supply and distribution system having the features of claim 1 and by an aircraft having the features of claim 14. Advantageous embodiments of the system and the aircraft are the subject-matter of the respective dependent claims. In a first aspect the problem is solved according to the present invention by an aircraft with a drinking water supply and distribution system comprising at least one water storage tank, at least one consumer equipment, at least one pressurization means, at least one pressure reducer and a conduit system. The conduit system connects the at least one water storage tank to the at least one consumer equipment via the at least one pressurization means and is adapted to supply water from the at least one water storage tank to the at least one consumer equipment. The at least one pressurization means is provided for pressurizing water in the conduit system, wherein a peak pressure of water in the conduit system exceeds a supply water pressure threshold. The conduit system comprises flexible conduits having a maximum internal diameter of less than 8 mm. Each of the at least one consumer equipment is associated with one of the at least one pressure reducer. The at least one pressure reducer is provided for reducing the pressure of water supplied by the conduit system to an associated consumer equipment such that the pressure does not exceed a consumer water pressure threshold. The supply water pressure threshold exceeds the consumer water pressure threshold. In other words according to the present invention instead of conventional large diameter low pressure supply pipework a conduit system comprising flexible conduits formed by flexible tubes or flexible hoses is used in the aircraft. The flexible conduits are preferably made from a plastic material, for example, polyether ether ketone (PEEK). The flexible conduits of the conduit system have a maximum internal diameter or open cross section of 8 mm or less and preferably a maximum internal diameter of 7 mm or less, more preferably a maximum internal diameter of 6 mm or less, more preferably a maximum internal diameter of 5 mm or less, even more preferably a maximum internal diameter of 4 mm or less and most preferab