Development of Environmental Control System for Small UAV Pod

In view of the characteristics of small unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV), such as tight power supply, small size, low load capacity and low flight speed, the environmental control system design of the UAV pod needs to universally meet the cooling requirements within the range of the flight envelope. The environmental control system with compact structure, light weight and low power consumption has become an important topic in the research of UAV aircraft. This paper proposes a new type of air-liquid heat exchange subsystem that compensates for the entrance air pressure, and applies it to the design of the environmental control system of a small UAV. The design idea and the key technology of the system are discussed. The simulation of air-liquid heat exchange is carried out by using 6SigmaET software. Simulation results show that the heat exchange of the system reaches 1.6 kW. The experimental verification results also show that the air-liquid heat exchange subsystem enhances the cooling capacity of the environmental control system in the area of low altitude and low speed. In summary, this system is an economical and efficient environmental control system suitable for small UAV pod.