An aircraft includes a power source 140 arranged to provide AC electrical power 146 of varying frequency 148 and a brake cooling fan 110 including an impeller for cooling brakes of the aircraft wheels 108 and which fan 110 is driven by an electric motor powered by said AC electrical power 146. The brake cooling fan 110 has an operable mode when the frequency 148 of said AC electrical power meets certain criteria indicating that the frequency of the AC power 146 is suitable for powering the motor, and an inoperable mode to protect against unsuitable operation of the motor. The criteria may include that the frequency is less than a maximum amount or has been less than a threshold amount for a certain period of time. The electrical power 146 may be switched by a monitoring system 120 using Solid State Power Switches (SSPS) 150. The monitoring system 120 may have inputs from a brake cooling fan switch 130 on the flight deck, a wild frequency power network 140 and an aircraft control system 160 indicating that the aircraft is on the ground. The brake cooling fan 110 may then be safely powered with AC power 146 direct from the wild frequency power network 140 on the aircraft without needing a power inverter or constant power supply generator, thus saving weight.
Aircraft brake cooling fan control system
2016-12-07
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
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