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An ice prevention system is configured to prevent ice from forming and/or melt ice with respect to one or more portions of an aircraft. The ice prevention system includes a combustor having an air inlet and a gas outlet. A supply air conduit is coupled to the air inlet of the combustor. The supply a

An ice prevention system is configured to prevent ice from forming and/or melt ice with respect to one or more portions of an aircraft. The ice prevention system includes a combustor having an air inlet and a gas outlet. A supply air conduit is coupled to the air inlet of the combustor. The supply air conduit is configured to channel low pressure air to the combustor. One or more delivery conduits are coupled to the gas outlet of the combustor. The delivery conduit(s) are configured to be coupled to the one or more portions of the aircraft. The combustor is configured to exhaust heated gas to the delivery conduit(s) through the gas outlet to prevent ice from forming with respect to the portion(s) of the aircraft.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An ice prevention system that is configured to prevent ice from forming with respect to one or more portions of an aircraft, the ice prevention system comprising: a combustor having an air inlet and a gas outlet, wherein the combustor is within the housing of an engine between a fan and an engine

1. An ice prevention system that is configured to prevent ice from forming with respect to one or more portions of an aircraft, the ice prevention system comprising: a combustor having an air inlet and a gas outlet, wherein the combustor is within the housing of an engine between a fan and an engine core;a supply air conduit coupled to the air inlet of the combustor, wherein the supply air conduit is configured to channel low pressure air to the combustor, wherein the low pressure air is air that has not been compressed within the engine core; andone or more delivery conduits coupled to the gas outlet of the combustor, the one or more delivery conduits further coupled to the one or more portions of the aircraft, wherein the combustor is configured to exhaust heated gas to the one or more delivery conduits through the gas outlet to prevent ice from forming or melt ice with respect to the one more portions of the aircraft. 2. The ice prevention system of claim 1, wherein the supply air conduit is configured to receive the low pressure air from one or more engine compressors. 3. The ice prevention system of claim 1, further comprising: a combustor fuel supply conduit coupling the combustor to a main fuel supply conduit of an engine;a first valve disposed within the supply air conduit, wherein the first valve is selectively actuated between open and closed positions; anda second valve disposed within the combustor fuel supply conduit, wherein the second valve is selectively actuated between open and closed positions. 4. The ice prevention system of claim 3, wherein an ice prevention control unit is in communication with and configured to control an igniter of the combustor, the first valve, and the second valve. 5. The ice prevention system of claim 4, wherein the ice prevention control unit is configured to: open the first valve to channel the low pressure air into the combustor through the supply air conduit;open the second valve to provide fuel to the combustor;activate the igniter to ignite a flame within the combustor;monitor a temperature of the flame to determine whether a desired flame temperature has been reached; andmonitor a temperature of the exhausted heated gas to determine whether a desired gas temperature has been reached. 6. The ice prevention system of claim 1, wherein the one or more delivery conduits comprises one or both of: an engine lip delivery conduit configured to channel the exhausted heated gas to an interior chamber of a lip skin of the engine; anda wing delivery conduit configured to channel the exhausted heated gas to an internal chamber of a leading edge of a wing of the aircraft. 7. The ice prevention system of claim 6, further comprising at least one condensate collection barrier coupled to at least one transfer conduit within one or both of the interior chamber of the lip skin or the internal chamber of the leading edge of the wing, wherein the at least one condensate collection barrier is configured to guide condensate into the at least one transfer conduit and out of one or more exhaust outlets formed through one or both of the lip skin of the engine or the leading edge of the wing. 8. The ice prevention system of claim 1, further comprising: a bypass conduit that is configured to couple a bleed air outlet of the engine core to the one or more delivery conduits; anda valve disposed within the bypass conduit, wherein the valve is selectively actuated between an open position in which high pressure heated gas from the engine core is supplied to the one or more delivery conduits, and a closed position that prevents the high pressure heated gas from passing into the one or more delivery conduits, wherein the high pressure heated gas is gas that is heated by compression within the engine core. 9. The ice prevention system of claim 1, further comprising at least one swirl nozzle disposed within the one or more delivery conduits. 10. The ice prevention system of claim 9, wherein the at least one swirl nozzle is selectively actuated between a first position and a second position. 11. The ice prevention system of claim 10, wherein the first position is a low pressure setting, and wherein the second position is a high pressure setting. 12. An ice prevention method of preventing ice from forming with respect to one or more portions of an aircraft, the ice prevention method comprising: coupling a supply air conduit to an air inlet of a combustor within a housing of an engine between a fan and an engine core, wherein the combustor include an igniter, an air inlet and a gas outlet;coupling one or more delivery conduits to a gas outlet of the combustor and the one or more portions of the aircraft;channeling low pressure air to the combustor through the supply air conduit, wherein the low pressure air is air that has not been compressed within the engine core;exhausting heated gas from the combustor to the one or more delivery conduits through the gas outlet;delivering the heated gas to the one or more portions of the aircraft through the one or more delivery conduits; andpreventing ice from forming or melting ice with respect to the one more portions of the aircraft due to the delivering operation. 13. The ice prevention method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving the low pressure air within the supply air conduit from a compressor of the engine. 14. The ice prevention method of claim 12, further comprising: coupling the combustor to a main fuel supply conduit of the engine with a combustor fuel supply conduit;disposing a first valve within the supply air conduit; anddisposing a second valve within the combustor fuel supply conduit. 15. The ice prevention method of claim 14, further comprising controlling an igniter of the combustor, the first valve, and the second valve with an ice prevention control unit. 16. The ice prevention method of claim 15, further comprising: opening the first valve to channel the low pressure air into the combustor through the supply air conduit;opening the second valve to provide fuel to the combustor;activating the igniter to ignite a flame within the combustor;monitoring a temperature of the flame to determine whether a desired flame temperature has been reached; andmonitoring a temperature of the exhausted heated gas to determine whether a desired gas temperature has been reached. 17. The ice prevention method of claim 12, wherein the one or more delivery conduits comprises one or both of: an engine lip delivery conduit configured to channel the exhausted heated gas to an interior chamber of a lip skin of the engine; anda wing delivery conduit configured to channel the exhausted heated gas to an internal chamber of a leading edge of a wing of the aircraft. 18. The ice prevention method of claim 17, further comprising: coupling at least one condensate collection barrier to at least one transfer conduit within one or both of the interior chamber of the lip skin or the internal chamber of the leading edge of the wing; andusing the at least one condensate collection barrier to guide condensate into the at least one transfer conduit and out of one or more exhaust outlets formed through one or both of the lip skin of the engine or the leading edge of the wing. 19. The ice prevention method of claim 12, further comprising: coupling a bleed air outlet of the engine core to the one or more delivery conduits with a bypass conduit;disposing a valve within the bypass conduit; andselectively actuating the valve between an open position in which high pressure heated gas from the engine core is supplied to the one or more delivery conduits, and a closed position that prevents the high pressure heated gas from passing into the one or more delivery conduits, wherein the high pressure heated gas is gas that is heated by compression within the engine core. 20. The ice prevention method of claim 12, further comprising disposing at least one swirl nozzle within the one or more delivery conduits. 21. The ice prevention method of claim 20, selectively actuating the at least one swirl nozzle between a low pressure setting and a high pressure setting. 22. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage;wings extending from the fuselage;an empennage extending from the fuselage;at least one engine connected to one or more of the fuselage, the wings, or the empennage, wherein the at least one engine comprises a housing, a fan, engine core, and a main fuel supply conduit; andan ice prevention system that is configured to prevent ice from forming or melt ice with respect to one or more portions of an aircraft, the ice prevention system comprising: a combustor having an igniter, an air inlet and a gas outlet, wherein the combustor is within the housing of the at least one engine between the fan and the engine core;a supply air conduit coupled to the air inlet of the combustor, wherein the supply air conduit is configured to receive low pressure air from a compressor and channel the low pressure air to the combustor, wherein the low pressure air is air that has not been compressed within the engine core;one or more delivery conduits coupled to the gas outlet of the combustor, the one or more delivery conduits further coupled to the one or more portions of the aircraft, wherein the combustor is configured to exhaust heated gas to the one or more delivery conduits through the gas outlet to prevent ice from forming with respect to the one more portions of the aircraft;a combustor fuel supply conduit coupling the combustor to the main fuel supply;a first valve disposed within the supply air conduit, wherein the first valve is selectively actuated between open and closed positions; anda second valve disposed within the combustor fuel supply conduit, wherein the second valve is selectively actuated between open and closed positions;an ice prevention control unit in communication with and configured to control the igniter, the first valve, and the second valve, wherein the ice prevention control unit is configured to: (a) open the first valve to channel the low pressure air into the combustor through the supply air conduit, (b) open the second valve to provide fuel to the combustor, (c) activate the igniter to ignite a flame within the combustor, (d) monitor a temperature of the flame to determine whether a desired flame temperature has been reached, and (e) monitor a temperature of the exhausted heated gas to determine whether a desired gas temperature has been reached. 23. The aircraft of claim 22, wherein the one or more delivery conduits comprises one or both of: an engine lip delivery conduit configured to channel the exhausted heated gas to an interior chamber of a lip skin of the at least one engine; anda wing delivery conduit configured to channel the exhausted heated gas to an internal chamber of a leading edge of a wing of the aircraft. 24. The aircraft of claim, 23, wherein the ice prevention system further comprises at least one condensate collection barrier coupled to at least one transfer conduit within one or both of the interior chamber of the lip skin or the internal chamber of the leading edge of the wing, wherein the at least one condensate collection barrier is configured to guide condensate into the at least one transfer conduit and out of one or more exhaust outlets formed through one or both of the lip skin of the engine or the leading edge of the wing. 25. The aircraft of claim 22, wherein the ice prevention system further comprises: a bypass conduit that is configured to couple a bleed air outlet of the engine core to the one or more delivery conduits; anda valve disposed within the bypass conduit, wherein the valve is selectively actuated between an open position in which high pressure heated gas from the engine core is supplied to the one or more delivery conduits, and a closed position that prevents the high pressure heated gas from passing into the one or more delivery conduits, wherein the high pressure heated gas is gas that is heated by compression within the engine core. 26. The aircraft of claim 22, wherein the ice prevention system further comprises at least one swirl nozzle disposed within the one or more delivery conduits. 27. The aircraft of claim 26, wherein the at least one swirl nozzle is selectively actuated between a low pressure setting and a high pressure setting.