Patent ID: 9302775
Filing Date: 2016-04-05
CPC Classification: B64D,Y02T

Claim Text:
1. A method to recover energy in an aircraft including a passenger cabin including an air flow regulated in terms of pressure and temperature using an environmental control and air conditioning system (ECS) powered by a load compressor, and auxiliary power generation, the method comprising: when the aircraft is in a ground mode, recovering thermal energy dissipated by the auxiliary power generation by heat exchange in an exhaust of the auxiliary power generation to power a cycle of a recovery turbocharger to produce mechanical energy in addition to the auxiliary power generation; and when the aircraft is in an altitude mode, in which cabin air is pressurized to a sufficient level, producing compression with the recovery turbocharger, driven at least partly by the cabin air recovered as the cabin air leaves the cabin and then heated by heat exchange in the exhaust, in addition to that of the load compressor, to provide compression rate required to power the ECS.