Military Aircraft Oxygen System: Sathiyaseelan. A

IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320-334X

PP 61-65
www.iosrjournals.org
Military Aircraft Oxygen System

Sathiyaseelan. A
ECS&LSS, Aircraft Research and Design Centre, Bangalore, India
Abstract: This paper provides information on the design of an On Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)
for military aircrafts. It explains the physiological oxygen requirements of the human body in both a normal
environment and in a hypoxic environment. It also includes an overview of gaseous oxygen system and liquid
oxygen systems. A basic understanding of how each system operates is then specifically addressed in its own
titled section. The charts, tables, and schematics provide a specific example of the oxygen system design and its
performance. A comprehensive overview of the theoretical oxygen requirements of the human body at altitude
is also provided. A detailed list of specifications and standards applicable to aircraft oxygen systems is
included.
Keywords - GOX, hypoxia, life support system, liquid oxygen, LOX, OBOGS, PPO2
I. INTRODUCTION
At ground level human breathe air with a 21% oxygen concentration in order to oxygenate the
bloodstream and, hence sustain life. At higher altitude it becomes more difficult for humans to take in oxygen as
Partial Pressure of Oxygen (PPO2), the pressure exerted by the oxygen equipment of air, decreases in direct
proportion to air pressure with increasing altitude. The life support system of an aircraft will provide
physiologically acceptable breathing gas/oxygen to pilots/ transported personnel on board. The oxygen
equipment of life support system will maintain adequate supply of oxygen to the tissues of the body in case of
reduction in barometric pressure consequent upon ascent to altitude, i.e. to prevent hypoxia[3].
In addition to the requirements to maintain a suitable level of oxygen concentration at altitude, life
support systems also need to protect pilots against acceleration (G). In military aircrafts, the oxygen system
supply shall be appropriate for the normal and emergency intended mission requirements of the aircraft. Supply
types include gaseous oxygen (GOX), liquid oxygen (LOX) and on-board oxygen generating systems
(OBOGS)[4]. This paper provides an over view of gaseous oxygen system, liquid oxygen system and design of
an OBOGS. LOX and GOX are explained in section 3 & 4 of this paper while design of OBOGS is covered in
section 5.
II. PHYSIOLOGICAL OXYGEN REQUIREMENTS

The lungs receive oxygen from the atmosphere which then diffuses into the blood. The blood, at the
same time, releases carbon dioxide into the lungs to be exhaled. The partial pressure of oxygen forces oxygen
through the air sacs and into the blood. The partial pressure of oxygen is approximately 20% of the total
atmospheric pressure. If at sea level, this would be about 152 mmHg of pressure and 102 mmHg would be
available in the lungs. The variation of PPO2 with respect to altitudes is given in Fig.1.
Fig.1. Variation of air pressure & PPO2 with altitudes
International Conference on RECENT TRENDS IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT 61 | Page

Indra Ganesan College of Engineering
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320-334X
PP 61-65
When a breath is drawn into the lungs, one would expect the partial pressure of oxygen to remain at
152 mmHg. However, since the gas exchange is going on continuously in the lungs, they contain other gases
that exert a relatively constant pressure which dilutes the expected 152 mmHg of oxygen. Water vapour is the
largest and represents 47 mmHg and carbon dioxide represents 40 mmHg. These gases tend to displace a part of
the oxygen as it reaches lung level. Therefore, these gases reduce the partial pressure of the oxygen at the air sac
level down to 102 mmHg. Table 1 details composition of lung gas at various altitudes and supply conditions [3].
The life support system maintains the PPO2 by increasing the oxygen concentration between the
minimum and maximum values as specified in Fig.4. In order to meet these requirements, regulator, a
component of breathing system, regulates the breathing functions namely gas flow and its pressure. The flow
requirement could vary from as little as 6 lpm to 60 lpm under some circumstances with a peak flow of 200 lpm.
Table 1. Composition of lung gas at various altitudes

COMPOSITION OF
LUNG GAS
ALTITUD ATMOSPHERI
CAS (mbar)
E CONDITION C PRESSURE
E
(ft) (mbar)
CO
O2 N2 H2O
2
75
1 Sea level Breathing air 1013 137 53 62
8
50
2 10, 000 Breathing air 695 72 53 62
6
31
3 20, 000 Breathing air 465 46 40 62
6
4 33, 000 100% O2 253 137 - 53 62
5 40, 000 100% O2 187 72 - 53 62
100% O2 at ambient
6 50, 000 115 13 - 40 62
pressure
100% O2 at 54 mbar
7 50, 000 115 72 - 53 62
above ambient
Table 2. Oxygen requirements at various altitudes

Altitude levels Oxygen requirements
Sea level – 10, 000 ft Normal air can be breathed
Progressive oxygen enrichment is
10, 000 ft – 30, 000 ft
required
30, 000 ft – 40, 000 ft 100% oxygen must be breathed
100% oxygen must breathed at increased
Above 40, 000 ft
pressure above ambient
III. GASEOUS AND LIQUID OXYGEN SYSTEM

As mentioned earlier, the supply source shall be gaseous oxygen, liquid oxygen or OBOGS. Each
system has its own merits. But comparing the first two the later has more advantages. In gaseous oxygen system
[1], the first generation system, oxygen is stored at 1800 – 2200 psi in high pressure containers. Oxygen is fed to
the occupants through NRV, pipe lines, fittings and the regulator after first being reduced to 70 - 90 psi. The
major disadvantage of this system is the weight and bulk of the storage containers which may become an issue
in smaller aircraft. The cylinders are charged (replenished) by means of a charging point on the side of
the aircraft, to which an external source of GOX is connected.
To allow greater oxygen storage, second generation systems store oxygen in a cryogenic dewarat -183o
degC. The LOX is then converted into vapour by passing through a heat exchanger, where temperature ox
oxygen is increased to nearly cabin temperature. Then the gaseous oxygen fed to the regulator and to the masks.
Storage in liquid form allows approximately five times as much oxygen oxygen to be contained in a given
volume when compared to GOX. The LOX container, however, has to be removed from the aircraft to be
refilled.
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320-334X
PP 61-65
IV. LIMITATIONS OF GOX AND LOX

The amount of oxygen that can be carried on the aircraft limits both mission duration and flexibility
when GOX and LOX are used. In an aircraft with in-flight refuelling capability, oxygen content determines the
mission duration rather than fuel level. Additionally LOX system requires considerable infrastructure or plant at
the bases to replenish the LOX converter, which prevents deployment of aircraft to the unprepared bases [6].
The LOX depletion is another limitation which requires frequent replenishing which further increases
the maintenance cost of the system. Less than one eighth of liquid oxygen produced in plant reaches the aircraft.
LOX is potentially at risk from contamination by toxic materials, most commonly oxides of nitrogen, carbon
monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, trichloro ethylene and hydrocarbons. The following table compares these systems
with OBOGS.
Table 3. Comparison of GOX, LOX and OBOGS

SL. GASEOUS LOX SYSTEM OBOGS
NO. SYSTEM
1 OCCUPIES MORE < 86% OF GASEOUS SAME AS LOX

SPACE
2 WEIGHT IS < 68% OF GASEOUS SAME AS LOX

MORE
3 STORED AT HIGH CHANCE OF FIRE NO STORAGE, NO

PRESSURE, HAZARD AND FROST DANGER
BURST DANGER BITE.
4 NO LEAKAGE LEAKAGE DUE TO NOT APPLICABLE

EVOPORATION
5 REGULAR REGULAR MAINTENANCE

MAINTENANCE MAINTENANCE FREE
6 NEEDS NEEDS UNLIMITED

REPLENISHMENT REPLENISHMENT USAGE
V. DESIGN OF OBOGS
Due to the limitations present in GOX and LOX, the third generation system, On-Board Oxygen Generation
system is developed. The breathable gas is produced on board by the use of Molecular Sieve Oxygen Generator
(MSOG). MSOG take ambient air and separates oxygen from inert gases. The material used as molecular sieve
is zeolite, which filters nitrogen molecules when air passed through it. In OBOGS this device is called as
concentrator [5]. The crystalline zeolites are of tetrahedral in structures linked by sodium or calcium to form
cages or cavities. These cages have affinity to adsorb molecules. Since nitrogen molecules are bigger than
oxygen and other molecules, they are filtered by molecular sieve.
In concentrator, oxygen and nitrogen are separated by virtue of the fact that nitrogen is hold strongly
within the sieve cage than oxygen. By using pressure swing technique, where by molecular sieve bed is
alternatively pressurised and de-pressurised and complete separation can be achieved. In reverse cycle, the bed
is de-pressurised and nitrogen molecules are purged out and bed becomes usable for next cycle. The product gas
of the concentrator contains a maximum of about 90 to 95 % of oxygen and remaining argon. Oxygen
concentrator of this type usually consist of two or more beds of molecular sieve [5] through each of which
compressed air is passed. This compressed air is taken from the environmental control system of the aircraft
which takes the bleed from engine compressor. A typical two bed system is shown in Fig. 3.

e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320-334X
PP 61-65
Fig.3 Typical two bed molecular sieve system

When one bed is de-pressurised and purged of its nitrogen the other bed is in pressurisation cycle producing
oxygen enriched breathing gas. In next cycle the roles of the beds are reversed hence the supply is continuous.
The output of OBOGS is measured to determine the level of PPO 2 and this value is then converted into an
oxygen concentration in conjunction with the output from a cabin pressure sensor. The main disadvantage of
this system is the the failure of engine bleed air which results in failure of OBOGS. The system can operate in
temperature range of -40o C to 80oC and pressure supply from 1 to 8 bar. The Table.4 below shows the flow rate
and concentration levels requirements from OBOGS. The OBOGS meets all the steady state requirements of
inspired gas as specified in Fig.4.
Fig.4. Variation of oxygen concentration with altitudes

e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320-334X
PP 61-65
Table 5. Oxygen concentration requirements
VI. CONCLUSION
The OBOGS reduces the dependence for heavy, bulky oxygen bottles that add more stress and weight to the
aircraft, as well as eliminate the risks associated with the handling and use of LOX. High mission duration is
also attained with the use of maintenance free OBOGS. The main disadvantage is the purity of product gas,
which is not 100%. However, the future aircraft oxygen system design relies on the development of OBOGS
especially for light aircrafts or high endurance aircrafts.
REFERENCES
[1] SAE-AIR825/6
[2] SAE-ARP 1532
[3] Joint service specification guide 2010-10
[4] NASA/CR-2001-210903 On-board oxygen generation system
[5] Mil-D-85520
[6] Christopher T. Carey, A Brief History of US Military Aviation Oxygen Breathing Systems


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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)

e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320-334X

Military Aircraft Oxygen System

II. PHYSIOLOGICAL OXYGEN REQUIREMENTS

Fig.1. Variation of air pressure & PPO2 with altitudes

International Conference on RECENT TRENDS IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT 61 | Page

Table 1. Composition of lung gas at various altitudes

Table 2. Oxygen requirements at various altitudes

III. GASEOUS AND LIQUID OXYGEN SYSTEM

IV. LIMITATIONS OF GOX AND LOX

Table 3. Comparison of GOX, LOX and OBOGS

1 OCCUPIES MORE < 86% OF GASEOUS SAME AS LOX

2 WEIGHT IS < 68% OF GASEOUS SAME AS LOX

3 STORED AT HIGH CHANCE OF FIRE NO STORAGE, NO

4 NO LEAKAGE LEAKAGE DUE TO NOT APPLICABLE

5 REGULAR REGULAR MAINTENANCE

6 NEEDS NEEDS UNLIMITED

International Conference on RECENT TRENDS IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT 63 | Page

Fig.3 Typical two bed molecular sieve system

Fig.4. Variation of oxygen concentration with altitudes

International Conference on RECENT TRENDS IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT 64 | Page

Table 5. Oxygen concentration requirements

International Conference on RECENT TRENDS IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT 65 | Page

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