Airplanes, Part 1: Advances in Transport Refrigeration System Technologies

Air cycle is the traditional refrigeration technology in the aerospace industry. Moving toward “more-electric” and “all-electric” aircraft concepts calls on high efficiency refrigeration technologies. Vapor cycle technologies are more efficient than the air cycle technologies and, therefore, the number of vapor cycle systems installed in aircrafts will increase in “more-electric” vehicles. At the same time advances in transport refrigeration systems used in airplanes have evolved over many years. A summary of transport refrigeration system technologies for aerospace applications is presented, focusing on vapor cycle systems integrated with environmental control systems (ECS).