AMTA 329

Emmanuel M. Landrito 03/20/21 BS-

AET 3RD YR Sir. Nolasco

BOEING 737 AIRCONDITIONING SYSTEM

- APU or engine 5th and if necessary 9th stage bleed air (hot) is pre-cooled by fan air
before entering the pack. Inside the pack, bleed air is cooled by ram air through heat
exchangers and an air cycle machine. A water separator collects water condensed by
the cooling process to avoid icing.

- Series 3/5/6/700 pack output temperatures are independently controlled. Series

4/8/900 packs work to the coldest of the three zones, the two warmer zones are then
heated by TRIM AIR after the mix manifold. In both series, flight-deck air is taken from
before the mix manifold, however series 4/8/900 flight-deck air may also contain trim air.

DUCT OVERHEAT

Cause: Duct temperature has exceeded 88C.

Remedy: Select cooler temp then trip reset.

ZONE TEMP (-4/8/900 only)

Cause: Duct temperature overheat or temp controller failure.

Remedy: Select cooler temp then trip reset.

Unfortunately the 737-800's have given a lot of nuisance trim air faults, even after
incorporation of Service Bulletin 737-21-1133. There is a Flight Crew Operations
Manual Bulletin titled “Nuisance Zone Temp Light Illuminations on 737-800 Airplanes.”
The procedure is as follows:

After landing, prior to first power transfer:

Trim Air Switch ……………………………………..... OFF

Air Conditioning System ……... ____Pack(s), BLEEDS ON

Prior to takeoff, after last power transfer:

Trim Air Switch ……………………………………........ ON

The cabin temperature sensor is behind the small grill located just over the overhead
locker on the stbd side at approximately row 3. This is why you get the burning smell of
a duct overheat in the cabin when you have the fwd doors open on a cold day and the
wind blowing icy air through the cabin. On such a day it is better to use the temperature
controls in manual to avoid this.
Also if the cabin temperature is not regulating well in flight, you should have an engineer
clean the foam air filter behind this grill. The flightdeck temperature sensor is near the
dome light.

Behind the cabin temperature sensor

-3/5/6/700 Air-conditioning Panel -400/800 Air-conditioning Panel

-1/200 Air-conditioning Panel (The -1/200 series air-con panel was very similar to the
existing NG panel except that temperatures could also be displayed at the L & R packs.)
Gasper Fan (1/200)
There was no recirculation fan on the 1/200 series but there was a gasper fan (see
right). This was an electric fan designed to increase pressure in the gasper system, ie
outlets above pax seats, under conditions of low supply pressure or high cold air
demand - normally on the ground on a hot day. The gasper fan is still effective even if
the packs are off as cabin air is drawn into the distribution ducts, down the risers, into
the main manifold and mixing chamber where it is then blown into the cold air risers and
ducts and out of the gasper fans.

Recirculation Fan (3-900)

The recirculation fan simply re-circulates filtered cabin air back to the cabin to reduce
bleed air requirements.

A pack in HIGH flow will produce more cold air than normal, but has a 25% higher bleed
air demand. Approximately 25% of the cabin air is recirculated for passenger comfort
compared to 50% on the 757/767 and none on the MD80. The recirc fan will switch off if
either pack is in high flow, giving a net reduction in the ventilation rate of 15%, so best
cooling is achieved with pack(s) AUTO and recirc fan(s) ON; this also reduces pack
load, bleed air demand and fuel consumption.

The ventilation rate of the 737-300 is 1900 cubic feet per minute (CFM) or about 13
CFM per passenger. When the larger 737-400 was designed, an extra recirculation fan
(also on the –4/8/900) was installed to increase the ventilation rate, and hence comfort
levels, for the increased passenger capacity of the larger aircraft. Unfortunately the
second fan is quite loud on the flightdeck - as are the NG fan(s).

Pack Problems
PACK TRIP OFF

Cause: Pack temp has exceeded limit. (Note this is pack temp not output temp)
Remedy: Select warmer temp (to make the pack work less hard) then trip reset.

PACK (-4/8/900 only)

Cause: Pack temp has exceeded limit or failure of pack controls.

Remedy: Select warmer temp (to make the pack work less hard) then trip reset.
On the ground: 1-500's: Use only one pack from the APU because packs are working
hardest when delivering cold air. NG APU's are more powerful so can use both packs
for cooling or heating. In fact using both packs causes the APU to burn slightly less fuel
than single pack operation.

If one pack fails with the pack switches in AUTO, the other will regulate to high flow
(unless flaps are down). Note series 1/200's do not have an AUTO mode, the pack
switch is simply ON/OFF.

If you dispatch with one pack inoperative, then max altitude is FL250. If a pack fails
when above this level, then you may continue at the higher level. Note if a pack should
fail, even at the aircrafts maximum certified altitude it should be able to maintain cabin
pressure. If both packs fail the cabin altitude will climb, probably between 2000 &
4000fpm depending upon the condition of the aircraft seals.
-3/5/6/700 Pneumatics panel -400/800 Pneumatics panel

The gap between the two RAM DOOR FULL OPEN lights was occupied by a F
OUTFLOW CLOSED light on the -1/200.

Ram-Air Inlet - Classic Ram-Air Inlet – NG

Ram Air
Ram air is controlled by variable geometry inlet doors, turbofans, and on some aircraft
variable exhaust louvers. Maximum ram air is available on the ground and on take-off.
In-flight there is less cooling requirement so it is modulated by the doors and louvers
which reduces both the ram air flow and also drag. The deflector doors are extended
whenever the aircraft is on the ground.
The RAM DOOR FULL OPEN lights will be illuminated on the ground and should
extinguish during the climb. If they do not, then either the cabin is still very hot and the
packs require full ram airflow for cooling or the heat exchanger may be faulty.
This photo shows the location of the two air conditioning packs underneath the aircraft.
Notice that the two ram air inlets have their deflector doors retracted because the
aircraft is in-flight. The packs are accessed through the two large access panels
between the deflector doors and the wheel well, these panels are hinged inboard. Aft of
the access panels are the ram air exit louvers, these will give you a nice warm blast of
air on your legs as you stand in the wheel well during your walk-around on a cold winter
day!
Equipment Cooling
The flight deck panels, display units, c/b panels and E&E bay are all cooled by replacing
the warm air with cool air from the cabin with electric fans. The supply fans push air and
the exhaust fans pull air through these units. The second fan was added to EFIS
equipped aircraft to cool the CRT's in 1986.

On the ground, the air is then dumped through the flow control valve (classics) /
overboard exhaust valve (NG). In-flight above 2psi cabin differential, the air is used for
heating the forward hold. The valve closing can be heard as a sudden hiss on the
flightdeck on climb out or during final approach at 2psi.

Note both cargo holds are also heated by exhausting cabin air around their walls. The
forward hold will maintain at least 40F and the aft hold at least 32F at a distance of 8
inches from the walls.
 Left: 737-1/200 & non-EFIS 737-300 Equip cooling
Right: 737-300 onwards Equip cooling with
separate supply & exhaust fans.

Water Separator
Air leaving the air cycle machine is at its coldest and any moisture it contains will
condense downstream. This could lead to problems with icing or corrosion so the
excess water is removed by the water separator.

Air goes into the water separator and through a polyester coalescer bag fixed on a
support which collects water mist from the air. The mist becomes water droplets as
more moisture goes through the bag. The support has slots that move the air in a
circular motion. The air with the water droplets moves to the collection chamber which is
a baffle that causes the water and air to make a sharp bend. This separates the heavier
water droplets but allows the air to leave freely. The collected water is then drained
overboard, you can see this dripping from the packs on the ground at hot & humid
airports. If the ACM output air is below 2C warm air is introduced to prevent icing.
If you have a noisy air conditioning pack, the coalescer bag may be full of dirt and need
changing (like a hoover bag!). When the bag is blocked the air bypasses the water
separator.
With the panels removed you can see the water separator and heat exchangers.

Pre-Conditioned Air

This is being used more frequently as airports start banning the use of the APU on the
ground. Pre-conditioned air is attached here straight into the mix manifold.
Limitations
With engine bleeds ON, do not operate the associated pack in HIGH for takeoff,
approach or landing.