The ECOSYSTEM project will develop and demonstrate at TRL 5, a high-performance inert gas expansion system as a halon-free cargo hold fire suppression system. The demonstrator will be capable of storing inert gas over the temperature range -55°C to +85°C and expand (discharge) it over the temperature range -40°C to +70°C. The demonstrator will be capable of a constant high rate of inert gas flow over the range 230 – 350 g/s and a subsequent low flow rate of 10 – 30 g/s. The demonstrator will include safety features to allow safe aircraft operation and will contain all of the necessary instrumentation to characterize the static and transient conditions during its operation.

The ECOSYSTEM TRL 5 prototype will be tested at the Fraunhofer Institute under both ground and simulated altitude conditions.

The project will leverage previous work by UTRC and Collins Aerospace on the modelling, fabrication and testing of aircraft fire suppression systems and will benefit from Collins Aerospace’s deep understanding of the aircraft fire suppression business since Collins Aerospace currently develops and supplies commercial systems for various aircraft platforms.