Patent Description:
The present invention relates to systems and methods for cooling braking assemblies, and more specifically to extending the useable life of braking assemblies.

Aircraft brake systems typically employ a series of friction disks forced into contact with each other to stop the aircraft. Friction disks splined to a non-rotating wheel axle are interspersed with friction disks splined to the rotating wheel. In response to these interleaved friction disks being pressed together during a braking actuation, significant heat is generated. Due to these high temperatures, friction disks (or at least wear surfaces thereof) are often constructed from carbon-carbon composite materials and/or steel materials. While such materials are generally able to withstand the heat, the elevated temperatures of a braking action may cause the friction disks (and other parts of the braking assembly) to undergo oxidation or to otherwise experience elevated temperature damage, which adversely affects the useable life of the friction disks. <CIT> describes a system and method for cooling the brakes of a landing gear of an aircraft. <CIT> describes a drive unit for an aircraft landing gear with integrated cooling.

A system for reducing a temperature of a braking assembly is defined in claim <NUM>. The system may include the braking assembly of a wheel assembly, an airflow amplifier, and a conduit. The braking assembly may include a plurality of friction disks. The airflow amplifier may be coupled to the wheel assembly, and the conduit may extend from a compressed gas source to the airflow amplifier. Generally, the airflow amplifier is configured to entrain ambient air ("entrained air") in response to compressed gas from the compressed gas source flowing to the airflow amplifier via the conduit, according to various embodiments. The airflow amplifier may be configured to direct the entrained air and the compressed gas to the braking assembly to reduce the temperature of the braking assembly.

In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier is mounted to a rim of a wheel of the wheel assembly. In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier is a first airflow amplifier of a plurality of airflow amplifiers mounted to the rim of the wheel of the wheel assembly. In various embodiments, plurality of airflow amplifiers are circumferentially distributed around the rim of the wheel of the wheel assembly. The plurality of airflow amplifiers may be coupled to the same compressed gas source. The conduit may extend from a non-rotating structure of the wheel assembly to the rotating rim, and thus the conduit may include a bearing and dynamic seal at an interface between the non-rotating structure and the rim. In various embodiments, the system further includes a mounting plate to which the plurality of airflow amplifiers are directly mounted, wherein the mounting plate is mounted to the rim. The mounting plate may comprise radially extending channels that form part of the conduit.

In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier comprises an air inlet, a compressed gas inlet, and an outlet. The airflow amplifier may define a central chamber extending from the air inlet to the outlet, wherein the compressed gas inlet comprises an annular nozzle for delivering the compressed gas to the central chamber. The airflow amplifier may be coupled to the wheel assembly in such a manner so as to allow additional airflow around an exterior surface of the airflow amplifier to be entrained by exhaust flow from the outlet.

The compressed gas source may be mounted to a landing gear for the wheel assembly, such as an arm of the landing gear. The airflow amplifier may be entirely disposed within a cavity defined by a wheel bay of the wheel assembly.

Also disclosed herein, is an aircraft as defined in claim <NUM>.

The aircraft may further include a controller coupled in electronic control communication with at least one of the compressed gas source and a valve of the conduit to control flow of compressed gas to the plurality of airflow amplifiers. The controller may be configured to determine at least one of an actual status and an expected status of the braking assembly and to actuate the flow of the compressed gas to the plurality of airflow amplifiers in response to at least one of the actual status and the expected status of the braking assembly.

Also disclosed herein, according to various embodiments, is a method for reducing a temperature of a braking assembly of an aircraft. The method may include determining, by a processor, at least one of an actual status and an expected status of the braking assembly, wherein the actual status and expected status pertains to the temperature of the braking assembly. The method may also include, based on at least one of the actual status and the expected status of the braking assembly, actuating, by the processor, flow of compressed gas to at least one airflow amplifier mounted to a rim of a wheel of the aircraft to direct entrained air and compressed gas to the braking assembly to reduce the temperature of the braking assembly. Actuating the flow may include maintaining the flow of the compressed gas until the temperature of the braking assembly reaches a predetermined temperature.

The forgoing features and elements as well as the operation of the disclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of the following description and accompanying drawings.

The subject matter of the present invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. A more complete understanding of the present invention, however, may best be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements.

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical changes and adaptations in design and construction may be made in accordance with this disclosure and the teachings herein without departing from the scope of the invention.

Disclosed herein, according to various embodiments, are systems and methods for reducing a temperature of braking assembly (e.g., friction disks of a braking assembly). By reducing the temperature of the components of the braking assembly, oxidation and/or damage to the various components, such as the friction disks, may be inhibited, thereby improving the lifetime of such components. Generally, the systems and methods disclosed herein include utilizing airflow amplifier(s) to increase the flow of cooling gas/air to the braking assembly to lower the temperature of the friction disks of the braking assembly. While numerous details and examples are included herein pertaining to lowering the temperature of (e.g., reducing oxidation of) friction disks of aircraft braking assemblies, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to aircraft implementations, and thus the present invention may be utilized to reduce oxidation of friction components in other applications.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, an aircraft <NUM> is provided. The aircraft <NUM> may include multiple landing gear, such as a first landing gear <NUM>, a second landing gear <NUM> and a third landing gear <NUM>. The landing gear may include one or more wheel assemblies <NUM> (<FIG>). For example, the third landing gear <NUM> may include an inner/inboard wheel assembly and an outer/outboard wheel assembly. The aircraft may also include one or more braking assemblies at each wheel assembly. The braking assembly, as described in greater detail below with reference to <FIG>, may generally include a plurality of interleaved friction disks that may be actuated to exert a braking force to decelerate and/or stop the aircraft <NUM>. Each wheel assembly of the aircraft <NUM> may be designed to receive a tire. For example, a tire <NUM> may be placed about an outer circumference of wheel assembly <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, a multi-disk braking assembly <NUM> is illustrated according to various embodiments. The braking assembly may be operatively mounted to the wheel assembly/landing gear of the aircraft <NUM>. The braking assembly <NUM> may include a wheel <NUM> supported for rotation around axle <NUM> by bearings <NUM>. Axle <NUM> defines an axis of multi-disk braking assembly <NUM> and the various components thereof described herein, and any reference to the terms axis and axial may include an axis of rotation defined by axle <NUM> or a dimension parallel to such axis. Wheel <NUM> includes rims <NUM> for supporting a tire, and a series of axially extending rotor splines <NUM> (one shown). Rotation of wheel <NUM> is modulated by multi-disk braking assembly <NUM>. Multi-disk braking assembly <NUM> includes torque flange <NUM>, torque tube <NUM>, a plurality of pistons <NUM> (one shown), pressure plate <NUM>, and end plate <NUM>. Torque tube <NUM> may be an elongated annular structure that includes reaction plate <NUM> and a series of axially extending stator splines <NUM> (one shown). Reaction plate <NUM> and stator splines <NUM> may be integral with torque tube <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, or attached as separate components.

Multi-disk braking assembly <NUM> also includes a plurality of friction disks <NUM>. Each friction disk <NUM> may comprise a friction disk core. The plurality of friction disks <NUM> includes at least one friction disk with a non-rotatable core, also known as a stator <NUM>, and at least one friction disk with a rotatable core, also known as a rotor <NUM>. Stators <NUM> and rotors <NUM> may be located adjacent to one another in multi-disk braking assembly <NUM>, forming a plurality of adjacent stator-rotor pairs. Stators <NUM> may comprise a stator core <NUM> and wear liners <NUM>. Rotors <NUM> may comprise a rotor core <NUM> and wear liners <NUM>. Each friction disk <NUM> includes an attachment structure. In various embodiments, each of the stators <NUM> includes a plurality of stator lugs <NUM> at circumferentially spaced positions around stator <NUM> as an attachment structure. Similarly, each of the five rotors <NUM> includes a plurality of rotor lugs <NUM> at circumferentially spaced positions around rotor <NUM> as an attachment structure. In various embodiments, pressure plate <NUM>, end plate <NUM>, and friction disks <NUM> are all annular structures made at least partially from a carbon composite material.

Torque flange <NUM> may be mounted to axle <NUM>. Torque tube <NUM> is bolted to torque flange <NUM> such that reaction plate <NUM> is near an axial center of wheel <NUM>. End plate <NUM> is connected to a surface of reaction plate <NUM> facing axially inward. Thus, end plate <NUM> is non-rotatable by virtue of its connection to torque tube <NUM>. Stator splines <NUM> support pressure plate <NUM> so that pressure plate <NUM> is also non-rotatable. Stator splines <NUM> also support stators <NUM> via stator cores <NUM>. Stator cores <NUM> engage stator splines <NUM> with gaps formed between stator lugs <NUM>. Similarly, rotors <NUM> engage rotor splines <NUM> via rotor core <NUM> with gaps formed between rotor lugs <NUM>. Thus, rotor cores <NUM> of rotors <NUM> are rotatable by virtue of their engagement with rotor splines <NUM> of wheel <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, rotors <NUM> with rotor cores <NUM> are arranged with end plate <NUM> on one end, pressure plate <NUM> on the other end, and stators <NUM> with stator cores <NUM> interleaved so that rotors <NUM> with rotor cores <NUM> are directly or indirectly adjacent to non-rotatable friction components. Pistons <NUM> are connected to torque flange <NUM> at circumferentially spaced positions around torque flange <NUM>. Pistons <NUM> face axially toward wheel <NUM> and contact a side of pressure plate <NUM> opposite friction disks <NUM>. Pistons <NUM> may be powered electrically, hydraulically, or pneumatically. In various embodiments, the torque tube <NUM> and/or torque flange <NUM> is secured to a static (non-rotating) structure, such as a bogie beam or a landing gear strut.

In various embodiments, in response to actuation of pistons <NUM>, a force, towards reaction plate <NUM>, is exerted on the rotatable friction disks <NUM> and the non-rotatable friction disks <NUM>. The rotatable friction disks <NUM> and the non-rotatable friction disks <NUM> may thus be pressed together between pressure plate <NUM> and end plate <NUM>. This compression of the friction disks during a braking action often generates substantial heat. While frictions disks, or at least wear liners of friction disks, may be made from a material that is capable of withstanding the heat, such as carbon-carbon composite materials or steel materials, the elevated temperature of the friction disks may render the disks susceptible to oxidation or other forms of temperature damage, which would reduce the useable life of the friction disks. Accordingly, the system and methods described below are configured to reduce the temperature of the braking assembly during, after, before, and/or between brake usage.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, a system <NUM> for reducing a temperature of a braking assembly <NUM> is provided. The system <NUM> may include a braking assembly <NUM> (e.g., braking assembly <NUM> of <FIG>) and a conduit <NUM> configured to direct compressed gas <NUM> (note the arrow representing the flow of compressed gas is shown outside the conduit <NUM>, though the flow is actually within the conduit <NUM>) from a compressed gas source <NUM> to an airflow amplifier <NUM> (or a plurality of airflow amplifiers). The airflow amplifier(s) <NUM> is coupled to the wheel assembly, such as the rim <NUM> of one of the wheels, according to various embodiments. The airflow amplifier(s) <NUM> is generally configured to entrain ambient air (referred to herein as "entrained air <NUM>") in response to the compressed gas <NUM> flowing to/through the airflow amplifier <NUM>, according to various embodiments. In accordance with various embodiments, the airflow amplifier <NUM> is configured to direct a combined stream <NUM> of the entrained air <NUM> and the compressed gas <NUM> to the braking assembly <NUM>, thereby augmenting convective cooling in the braking assembly <NUM> (e.g., around the friction disks) to reduce the temperature of the braking assembly <NUM>. The reduced temperature may mitigate oxidation of the braking assembly <NUM>. Additional details pertaining to the structure of the airflow amplifier(s) <NUM> are included below with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

The compressed gas source <NUM>, the conduit <NUM>, and the airflow amplifiers <NUM> are shown schematically in <FIG>, and thus the routing, position, size, and/or orientation of the compressed gas source <NUM>, the conduit <NUM>, and the airflow amplifiers <NUM>, relative to each other and/or relative to other components of the system <NUM>, is not to be limited to the depiction in <FIG>. In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier <NUM> is mounted to a rim <NUM> of a wheel of the wheel assembly. The airflow amplifier <NUM> may be at least partially positioned within a hole/aperture of the rim <NUM>, thus allowing the combined stream <NUM> to pass through the rim <NUM> to the braking assembly <NUM>. For example, the airflow amplifier <NUM> may be configured to specifically direct the combined stream at one or more friction disks.

In various embodiments, the system <NUM> includes a plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM> mounted to the rim <NUM>. The plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM> may be circumferentially distributed around the rim <NUM> to more uniformly distribute the cooling convective airflow around the braking assembly <NUM>. In various embodiments, each airflow amplifier of the plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM> may be specifically directed at a certain region/portion of the braking assembly. For example, a first airflow amplifier may be directed at an outboard-most friction disk (or set of outboard-most friction disks) while a second airflow amplifier may be directed at an adjacent friction disk (or set of friction disks) and so on, thus allowing for the entire stack of friction disks to be convectively cooled. In various embodiments, multiple airflow amplifiers <NUM> are fluidly coupled (via the conduit <NUM>) to the same compressed gas source <NUM>. Said differently, a single compressed gas source can be used to supply compressed gas to multiple airflow amplifiers. For example, there may be between <NUM> and <NUM> airflow amplifiers in various embodiments, or more, that are supplied with compressed gas from the same compressed gas source. In various embodiments, the system <NUM> may include multiple conduits respectively from multiple compressed gas sources, with each conduit feeding a set of airflow amplifiers.

In various embodiments, the conduit <NUM> extends from a non-rotating structure (e.g., an axle <NUM>, a bogue axle, a landing gear <NUM>, etc.) of the aircraft to a rotating structure of the aircraft (e.g., the rim <NUM>). Thus, the conduit <NUM> may include a bearing and dynamic seal at an interface between the non-rotating structure and the rotating structure. For example, the conduit interface between the non-rotating structure and the rotating structure may include a rotary union joint that facilitate fluid transfer to rotating components. In various embodiments, the compressed gas source <NUM>, may be mounted to landing gear or some other non-rotating structure. In various embodiments, the compressed gas source may be a tank of compressed gas, or a solid state material that generates gas via chemical reaction or some other mechanism.

In various embodiments, the compressed gas source <NUM> may be an inert fluid source. That is, while the compressed gas may be air, in other embodiments the compressed gas may be nitrogen gas or other conventional inert fluids, such as helium, neon, argon. For example, the compressed gas may be a nitrogen-enriched air stream comprising less than <NUM> volume % of oxygen. In various embodiments, the compressed gas has a volume percent of oxygen of less than <NUM>%. In various embodiments, the oxygen content in the compressed is less than <NUM> volume percent.

In various embodiments, the system <NUM> may include a mounting plate <NUM> to which the airflow amplifiers <NUM> are directly mounted. The mounting plate <NUM> may be a circular plate or the mounting plate may be an annular plate having radially extending sections. The mounting plate may define portions of the conduit <NUM>, such as radially extending channels, that facilitate delivery of the compressed gas to each of the airflow amplifiers <NUM>. The mounting plate <NUM> may be generally configured to allow for the airflow amplifiers <NUM> to be easily affixed to the rim/wheel via the mounting plate <NUM>. That is, instead of individually mounting each airflow amplifier <NUM> to the wheel/rim, the airflow amplifiers <NUM> may be directly affixed to the mounting plate <NUM>, and the mounting plate <NUM> may be affixed to the wheel/rim. In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier <NUM> are entirely disposed within a cavity defined by a wheel bay of the wheel assembly. Said differently, the size and mounting configuration of airflow amplifiers <NUM> may be selected such that the outboard end of each airflow amplifier does not extend beyond the protective volume of the wheel bay.

In various embodiments, instead of the mounting plate being coupled to the rotating wheel/rim, the mounting plate may be directly mounted to the axle. For example, the mounting plate may be retained/secured outboard of the wheel (e.g., by an axle nut or the like). In such a configuration, the non-rotating mounting plate may be positioned so as to have sufficient clearance from the rotating wheel.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, each airflow amplifier <NUM> may be a throttled ring-type amplifier that utilizes the "Coand<IMG> effect" to induce ambient airflow. That is, each airflow amplifier <NUM> may comprise an inlet side (e.g., an air inlet <NUM>), a compressed gas inlet <NUM>, and an outlet side (e.g., an outlet <NUM> or an exhaust end). The airflow amplifier <NUM> may define a central chamber extending from the air inlet <NUM> to the outlet <NUM>, and the compressed gas inlet <NUM> may be a port in fluid receiving communication with the conduit <NUM> that delivers the compressed gas <NUM> to an annular chamber defined in the airflow amplifier <NUM>. The airflow amplifier may include an annular nozzle (e.g., a ring nozzle) for delivering the compressed gas from the annular chamber into the central chamber. Due to the "Coand<IMG> effect," the compressed gas stays attached to the inner surface of the central chamber as the compressed gas flows toward the outlet <NUM>. The movement of the compressed gas along the interior walls of the central chamber creates a vacuum that induces/entrains ambient air (i.e., the entrained air <NUM>) into the central chamber through the air inlet <NUM>, thus utilizing the pressurized compressed gas to entrain a large flow volume of air to facilitate with the convective cooling of the braking assembly. That is, because of the air entrainment, the total flow rate (i.e., the total mass/molar flow rate of fluid) that is delivered to the braking assembly for cooling purposes is greater than would be possible if only the compressed gas source was utilized. In various embodiments, and as described in more detail with reference to <FIG>, the airflow amplifier <NUM> may also entrain additional airflow <NUM> around the exterior surface <NUM> of the airflow amplifier by the flow velocity of the combined stream <NUM> (e.g., the exhaust flow) emitted from the outlet <NUM>.

In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier <NUM> is a non-electric component. In various embodiments, the airflow amplifier is passive and has no internal moving parts. Accordingly, the weight and overall sound level of these airflow amplifier(s) may be less than pumps, fans, or other air movers that use impellers or other mechanical means. For example, the sound level of the airflow amplifier during operation may be less than <NUM> dBa, or even less than <NUM> dBa. The airflow amplifier may be made from a metallic material, such as stainless steel and/or aluminum.

As mentioned above, the size, capacity, and number of airflow amplifiers may be selected according to the cooling needs of a specific braking assembly/wheel assembly. In various embodiments, each airflow amplifier may provide an amplification ratio (defined as inlet flow rate compared to the combined outlet flow rate) of between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM> :<NUM>. That is, the volumetric flow rate of the combined stream <NUM> (including any additional airflow <NUM>) may be between <NUM> and <NUM> times the volumetric flow rate of the compressed gas <NUM> flowing into the airflow amplifier. This amplification ratio depends on various factors, such as whether the airflow amplifier is mounted in a ducted or un-ducted configuration (see below with reference to <FIG>). In various embodiments, the cumulative volumetric flow rate of the combined streams from the plurality of airflow amplifiers is between <NUM> liters per second (~<NUM> SCFM) to <NUM> liters per second (~<NUM> SCFM). These cumulative flow rate numbers may be achieved, for example, by a single air compressor coupled to four (<NUM>) airflow amplifiers, according to various embodiments.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, the airflow amplifier <NUM> may be coupled to wheel assembly in such a manner so as to allow additional airflow <NUM> around the exterior surface <NUM> of the airflow amplifier <NUM> to be entrained by the combined stream <NUM> (e.g., exhaust flow) from the outlet <NUM>. Such a configuration is referred to as a un-ducted configuration, and this configuration results in higher amplification ratios. In various embodiments, the airflow amplifiers <NUM> are each mounted to leave gaps between the rim <NUM> and the exterior surface <NUM> of the airflow amplifier to allow for this additional airflow entrainment.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, a schematic block diagram of an aircraft <NUM> is provided. The aircraft <NUM>, which may be aircraft <NUM>, includes a compressed gas source <NUM>, a controller <NUM>, a landing gear <NUM>, a wheel assembly <NUM>, a braking assembly <NUM>, and a plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM>. The landing gear <NUM> may include the wheel assembly <NUM>, and the braking assembly <NUM> may be operatively coupled to the wheel assembly <NUM> and may include a plurality of friction disks, as described above. The plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM> may be coupled to a rim of a wheel of the wheel assembly <NUM>. The compressed gas source <NUM> may be coupled/mounted to the landing gear <NUM>, and a conduit <NUM> may extend from the compressed gas source <NUM> to the plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM>. As described above, the plurality of airflow amplifiers <NUM> may be generally configured to entrain ambient air ("entrained air") in response to compressed gas from the compressed gas source flowing to the airflow amplifier via the conduit, wherein the plurality of airflow amplifiers are configured to direct the entrained air and the compressed gas to the braking assembly to reduce the temperature of the braking assembly.

In various embodiments, the controller <NUM> is in electronic control communication with at least one of the compressed gas source <NUM> and/or one or more valves <NUM> disposed along the conduit to control flow of the compressed gas to the plurality of airflow amplifiers. Generally, the controller <NUM> is configured to selectively control delivery of the compressed gas to the braking assembly. For example, delivery of the compressed gas to the plurality of airflow amplifiers via the conduit <NUM> may be actuated in response to determining a status of the braking assembly <NUM> (e.g., based on input and/or feedback from various sensors or other devices of the aircraft). The status of the braking assembly <NUM> may pertain to a temperature of the braking assembly, specifically the friction disks. Accordingly, the controller <NUM> may be configured to determine at least one of an actual status and an expected status of the braking assembly and to actuate the flow of the compressed gas to the plurality of airflow amplifiers in response to at least one of the actual status and the expected status of the braking assembly. For example, the status may be a threshold aircraft speed, a threshold aircraft deceleration, a threshold temperature of the braking assembly, a threshold braking force, and/or an aircraft landing event, according to various embodiments.

The controller <NUM> may be integrated into computer systems onboard aircraft such as, for example, a brake control unit (BCU), a full authority digital engine control (FADEC), an engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS), and/or the like. The controller <NUM> may also be a standalone computer system separate from aircraft and in electronic communication with aircraft, as described in further detail herein. The controller <NUM> may include one or more processors and/or one or more tangible, non-transitory memories and be capable of implementing logic. Each processor can be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof.

In various embodiments, the processor of the controller <NUM> may be configured to implement various logical operations in response to execution of instructions, for example, instructions stored on the non-transitory memory (e.g., tangible, computer-readable medium). As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is to be understood to remove only propagating transitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquish rights to all standard computer-readable media that are not only propagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaning of the term "non-transitory computer-readable medium" and "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium" should be construed to exclude only those types of transitory computer-readable media which were found in In Re Nuijten to fall outside the scope of patentable subject matter under <NUM> U.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, a method <NUM> for reducing a temperature of a braking assembly is provided. The method <NUM> may include determining a status of a braking assembly at step <NUM> and actuating flow of compressed gas to at least one airflow amplifier based on the determined status at step <NUM>. The status of the braking assembly may generally pertain to a temperature of the friction disks (e.g., a likelihood of oxidation of the friction disks of the braking assembly). Said differently, the determined status of the braking assembly may be a detected, sensed, or calculated condition of the aircraft that is indicative of whether oxidation would occur if not for delivery of the cooling convective flow using the airflow amplifiers.

In various embodiments, determining the status of the braking assembly is performed by a controller of an aircraft control system of the aircraft. In various embodiments, determining the status of the braking assembly comprises determining if an aircraft speed meets a threshold aircraft speed. In various embodiments, determining the status of the braking assembly comprises determining if an aircraft deceleration meets a threshold aircraft deceleration. In various embodiments, determining the status of the braking assembly comprises determining if a temperature of the braking assembly meets a threshold temperature of the braking assembly. In various embodiments, wherein determining the status of the braking assembly comprises determining if a braking force meets a threshold braking force. In various embodiments, determining the status of the braking assembly comprises determining a landing event of the aircraft.

However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the invention.

The scope of the invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless explicitly so stated, but rather "one or more.

For example, steps that may be performed concurrently or in different order are illustrated in the figures to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

Claim 1:
A system for reducing a temperature of a braking assembly, the system comprising:
the braking assembly (<NUM>) of a wheel assembly (<NUM>), the braking assembly (<NUM>) comprising a plurality of friction disks (<NUM>);
an airflow amplifier (<NUM>) coupled to the wheel assembly (<NUM>);
a conduit (<NUM>) extending from a compressed gas source to the airflow amplifier;
and characterized by further comprising a compressed gas source comprising a solid state material that generates gas via a chemical reaction; and
wherein the airflow amplifier (<NUM>) is configured to entrain ambient air in response to compressed gas from the compressed gas source flowing through the airflow amplifier (<NUM>) via the conduit (<NUM>), wherein the airflow amplifier (<NUM>) is configured to direct the entrained air and the compressed gas onto the braking assembly to reduce the temperature of the braking assembly.