F-22 Environmental Control/Thermal Management System Design Optimization for Reliability and Integrity - A Case Study

The F-22 Environmental Control System (ECS) is combined with the Thermal Management System (TMS) to provide an integrated aircraft thermal conditioning and pressurization system. The F-22 ECS/TMS is currently the most complex, functionally critical, and highly integrated ECS designed for a fighter aircraft.

It is a significant challenge to design such a complex system, critical for safe flight and mission capabilities, to meet the necessary reliability and integrity objectives.

This paper will address the steps and activities performed in advancing the state of the art in ECS reliability and integrity during the design and test phase of the F-22 program to assure the success of the system.