The outside air used to pressurize and ventilate the cabin during flight is supplied by bleed air from the propulsion engine compressors on most airliners. The potential for this air to be contaminated by lubricating oil from leaking engine seals and other sources is believed to be rare. ASHRAE Standard 161, Air Quality within Commercial Aircraft, addresses this issue and includes a requirement for bleed air oil contamination sensing. This standard does not address the technology to be used for this sensing nor does it provide guidance about the physical characteristics of the contaminants as they appear in the bleed air.
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