Patent ID: 7137240

Claim:
A system for removing accumulations of ice and snow from the bottom of inlet muff of an auxiliary power unit (APU), comprising: a gull wing fairing mounted within the inlet muff to direct inlet air into an inlet of the APU that has a plurality of perforations to allow air and liquid flow through the fairing into a stagnant air region of the inlet muff below the fairing; a tracer line comprising tubing that is arranged along a surface of the fairing in a general “zigzag” pattern that has an inlet coupled to a primary stream of high pressure hot air and an outlet to warm the fairing sufficiently to melt ice and snow that accumulates in the region of the fairing; and an ejector with a primary nozzle inlet coupled to the outlet of the tracer line for coupling the primary stream of high pressure hot air into an ejector nozzle and a secondary stream inlet that couples the stagnant air region of the inlet muff below the fairing to an ejector mixing tube to suck a secondary stream of air with ice and snow melt from the bottom of the inlet muff and discharge it from an outlet of the ejector mixing tube.