EcosimPro is the European Space Agency (ESA) standard tool to support Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS or ECLS) analysis.
Processes used in ECLSS are multiple: fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical reactions, electro-chemical, biological, etc. As a result, EcosimPro is designed as a multi-disciplinary and flexible tool that can be easily adapted to simulate very different kinds of processes and systems.
There is a standard library of EcosimPro, which is mainly adapted to model air loops of conventional ECLSS. Some extensions to this library have been implemented to perform detailed fluid flow analysis which are beyond the scope of the traditional fluid flow solvers available in Thermal Analysis software.
The standard ECLSS library is well adapted to the thermo-hydraulic analysis of air cabin loops, but CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System) and ATCS (Active Thermal Control System) have also been modeled by developing specific libraries of components.
EcosimPro has been used for the last 7 years as a standard ECLS tool for European space projects. Its range of application is rapidly expanding and it is the objective with this paper to present both an overview of the current applications of EcosimPro to ECLSS plus the emerging applications in the area of CELSS, ATCS and detailed fluid flow analysis.