Rapid development of an aircraft cabin temperature regulation concept

Abstract

The air in aircraft cabins is controlled for pressure, temperature and humidity. The number of temperature zones is generally kept low, for reasons of necessary ducting space. We devise a new ducting concept, which enables a large number of temperature zones. Controllability of the system is however predicted to be a potential obstacle. For a quick resolution of this question, a Modelica model is created. Model creation is focused on a short development time as well as usefulness for controller synthesis. A workflow is presented that enables a quick iteration time between controller synthesis in Matlab and controller testing in a Modelica environment. Finally, the impact of this new concept on the energy consumption of the air generation unit is discussed.