Details

UGSSO₂ – Oxygen Charging & Distribution Vehicle
Mobile High-Pressure Aviation Oxygen Ground Support System (Storage + Boosting + Multi-Pressure Distribution)

Introduction — why aircraft need oxygen, and why oxygen ground support must be engineered like a process system

At sea level, humans breathe comfortably because the partial pressure of oxygen (pO₂) in air is high enough to drive efficient oxygen transfer into the bloodstream. As altitude increases, ambient pressure falls, and with it the pO₂. Even though the atmosphere still contains ~21% oxygen, the reduced pO₂ can quickly cause hypoxia—a dangerous degradation of cognitive and motor performance that can progress from poor judgment and tunnel vision to loss of consciousness.

Aviation intensifies this risk:
• High altitude operations: pO₂ drops to levels where supplemental oxygen becomes mandatory.
• Rapid climb profiles & decompression events: the body cannot adapt fast enough; oxygen must be immediately available.
• High workload cockpits: pilots must retain sharp decision-making under stress and time pressure.
• High-G maneuvering: physiological demand increases while tolerance decreases, especially in fighters.

Because oxygen is a life-support consumable, aircraft incorporate dedicated oxygen systems. Typical onboard architectures include:
• Pressurization + emergency oxygen: pressurization reduces physiological stress, but supplemental oxygen is still required for emergencies and certain operating profiles.
• GOX (Gaseous Oxygen) cylinder systems: many platforms use high-pressure oxygen cylinders feeding regulators and distribution manifolds. These cylinders must be charged, topped-up, verified, and maintained, creating an ongoing requirement for ground servicing equipment.
• LOX (Liquid Oxygen) converter systems: LOX is vaporized onboard to supply breathing oxygen; this involves dedicated logistics and periodic servicing.
• OBOGS (On-Board Oxygen Generation System): oxygen-enriched gas is generated from engine bleed air. Even with OBOGS, fleets typically retain backup sources and still require strong servicing/verification workflows.

Why oxygen ground support cannot be “cylinders + hoses”
Oxygen servicing sits in a unique hazard envelope:
• Oxygen accelerates combustion and lowers ignition thresholds.
• Adiabatic compression during rapid pressurization can cause localized heating.
• Trace hydrocarbon contamination (oil/grease), particles, and incompatible materials can become ignition initiators.
• Moisture/contamination control impacts both safety and long-term reliability of aircraft oxygen components.

So, a serious aviation oxygen servicing system must behave like a controlled industrial process: clean interfaces, disciplined purging/venting, verified gas quality, controlled pressurization, defined pressure regimes, instrumentation visibility, and layered safety controls.
UGSSO₂ is engineered for exactly this reality. It is a self-propelled oxygen charging and distribution vehicle that integrates high-pressure storage, air-driven oxygen boosting, and multi-pressure distribution inside a protected canopy—so crews can boost oxygen into onboard banks and then service aircraft oxygen units through defined outlet pressure ranges in a repeatable workflow.

Product overview
UGSSO₂ is a mobile, canopy-integrated oxygen ground support system designed to:
• Build a high-pressure onboard oxygen reserve via controlled boosting
• Provide multi-pressure aircraft servicing outlets for defined charging regimes
• Maintain high availability with dual-booster redundancy
• Improve oxygen logistics efficiency through internal boosting (better utilization of residual pressure)
• Strengthen operational governance using oxygen purity monitoring and protective logic
• Protect the enclosed equipment environment using fire detection + CO₂ total flooding suppression
• Operate with a dedicated towable compressor trolley that supplies drive air to the boosters
This is not a “cylinder truck.” It is a process-engineered oxygen servicing platform.

What UGSSO₂ is built to do
1) Create an onboard high-pressure oxygen reserve
UGSSO₂ receives oxygen from external supply cylinders and boosts it into onboard storage banks, creating a ready reserve for multiple servicing cycles without continuous repositioning of loose cylinders.

2) Service aircraft oxygen units through defined outlet pressure regimes
UGSSO₂ provides dedicated distribution outlets across multiple pressure windows—supporting standardized charging procedures and removing dependence on improvised regulator chains.

3) Deliver continuity, throughput, and field resilience
• Two air-driven oxygen boosters enable duty/standby continuity or parallel boosting for higher throughput.
• Internal boosting improves usable yield and endurance when supply logistics are constrained.

System architecture (two-unit solution)
A) Main oxygen charging vehicle (truck + protected canopy module)
A purpose-built canopy houses the complete oxygen process system:
• Banked high-pressure oxygen storage skid
• Oxygen boosting skid with two independent air-driven boosters
• Rear operator station split into two functional sections:
  ▹ Boosting / Storage Filling
  ▹ Distribution / Aircraft Servicing
• Integrated oxygen purity monitoring/controller
• Electrical controls, instrumentation, and structured operating logic
• Fire detection and CO₂ total flooding suppression within the canopy
• Hose management designed to protect oxygen-clean boundaries

B) Towable air compressor trolley (drive-air supply)
Oxygen boosters are air-driven. The trolley supplies the required drive air and supports stable operation through an oxygen-compatible philosophy: consistent pressure delivery, moisture management, and filtration intent.

Detailed subsystem description (technical deep dive)
1) Banked high-pressure oxygen storage skid — “capacity with control”
UGSSO₂ stores oxygen in a banked cylinder arrangement:
• 4 banks × 3 cylinders per bank = 12 cylinders total
• High-pressure storage class up to 350 kg/cm²
• Cylinder water capacity class 40 L

Why banked storage matters technically:
• Isolation logic: banks can be isolated for controlled filling, controlled draw, maintenance checks, or staged usage.
• Pressure management: bank selection supports stable servicing pressure availability by avoiding uncontrolled depletion.
• Operational sequencing: banks can be used in a defined order to match sortie tempo and minimize bottlenecks.
• Fault containment: if an issue is suspected in one bank/cylinder, other banks remain operational.

2) Oxygen boosting skid — dual booster architecture
UGSSO₂ includes two air-driven oxygen boosters (Booster-I and Booster-II).
Operating modes:
• Duty/Standby: one booster operates while the second remains ready, improving availability.
• Parallel Boosting: both boosters operate to reduce charging time and increase throughput.

Why air-driven boosters are a practical choice:
• Suitable for field operations where power architecture must remain safe and robust.
• Modular serviceability (planned seal/maintenance cycles) with a clear duty/standby strategy.
• Reduced dependence on large electrical drives in the oxygen-handling zone.

3) Rear operator station — engineered workflow and human factors
UGSSO₂ is designed so the operator can manage the complete process from one rear location with clear functional separation.
Left section – Boosting & storage filling (external cylinder → booster → banked storage):
• Inlet oxygen connection with disciplined purging/venting
• Drive-air routing and control to Booster-I / Booster-II
• Storage bank selection and isolation
• Instrumentation visibility for inlet/outlet/bank pressures

Right section – Distribution & aircraft servicing (banked storage → pressure management → aircraft interface):
• Dedicated outlet ports with defined pressure ranges
• Port-specific monitoring
• Controlled charging via pressure regulation
• Venting and shutdown practice to return the system to a safe baseline
This arrangement reduces operator movement, simplifies training, and improves repeatability across shifts and bases.

4) Multi-pressure distribution — defined outlet pressure regimes
UGSSO₂ provides four outlet regimes to match servicing needs:
• Port I: 1 to 5.5 kg/cm²
• Port II: 150 to 230 kg/cm²
• Port III: 230 to 350 kg/cm²
• Port IV: 350 kg/cm²

Engineering value:
• Converts what is often a “custom regulator stack” problem into a structured port-selection process.
• Reduces human error by constraining operation into defined regimes.
• Enables multi-aircraft servicing workflows with consistent control.

5) Oxygen purity monitoring — quality treated as a controlled parameter
UGSSO₂ incorporates oxygen purity monitoring/control logic so oxygen quality is not assumed.
Why it matters:
• Quality governance is increasingly required in procurement and operational audits.
• Prevents charging aircraft systems with off-spec gas.
• Reinforces oxygen-clean workflow discipline (purging/venting and correct sequencing).

6) Internal boosting — better use of the oxygen you already have
UGSSO₂ supports internal boosting to improve utilization of onboard oxygen inventory.
Use case: when one cylinder/bank has residual pressure that is not directly useful for aircraft charging, internal boosting allows that pressure to be leveraged to raise pressure elsewhere in the onboard system.

Operational benefits:
• Higher usable yield from stored oxygen
• Reduced wastage of residual pressure
• Improved endurance during supply constraints

Safety engineering — oxygen reality, not brochure safety
High-pressure oxygen requires layered controls. UGSSO₂ is built around:
1) Canopy fire protection
An integrated detection + CO₂ total flooding suppression system protects the enclosed canopy environment where oxygen equipment is installed.

2) Structured operating logic / protective behavior
The system architecture supports controlled operation by preventing or mitigating unsafe states such as:
• operation under poor supply conditions,
• unsafe drive-air conditions for stable boosting,
• exceeding storage pressure limits,
• deviation from required quality constraints.

3) Oxygen-clean operating discipline supported by design
UGSSO₂ is intended to operate under oxygen-clean discipline:
• protected and capped interfaces
• purge/vent routines before transfer
• controlled valve actuation to avoid rapid compression heating
• avoidance of hydrocarbons (oil/grease)
• grounding/earthing practices for static risk reduction

Technical Specifications
A) Vehicle & platform

  

    
Parameter
    
Specification
  
  

    
Deployment
    
Mobile, truck-mounted oxygen charging & distribution vehicle
  
  

    
Operating environment
    
Outdoor / airbase operations
  
  

    
Fuel tank capacity (vehicle)
    
60 L
  
  

    
Tyre pressure (vehicle)
    
115 PSI
  
  

    
Measured axle loads
    
Front: 1925 kg / Rear: 3025 kg
  
  

    
Gross vehicle weight (GVW)
    
4995 kg
  


B) Onboard oxygen storage (high-pressure bank system)

  

    
Parameter
    
Specification
  
  

    
Storage working pressure
    
350 kg/cm² class
  
  

    
Cylinder water capacity
    
40 L
  
  

    
Total cylinders
    
12
  
  

    
Bank arrangement
    
4 banks × 3 cylinders per bank
  
  

    
Cylinder height
    
1135 mm
  
  

    
Cylinder diameter
    
Ø232 mm
  
  

    
Approx. cylinder weight
    
90 kg each
  
  

    
Cylinder color
    
Black
  


C) Oxygen boosting (dual booster skid)

  

    
Parameter
    
Specification
  
  

    
Booster configuration
    
2 × air-driven oxygen boosters
  
  

    
Operating modes
    
Duty/standby or parallel boosting
  
  

    
Drive air source
    
Towable compressor trolley (external)
  


D) Oxygen distribution (multi-pressure outlets)

  

    
Port
    
Outlet Pressure Range
  
  

    
Port I
    
1 to 5.5 kg/cm²
  
  

    
Port II
    
150 to 230 kg/cm²
  
  

    
Port III
    
230 to 350 kg/cm²
  
  

    
Port IV
    
350 kg/cm²
  


E) Compressor trolley (drive-air supply)

  

    
Parameter
    
Specification
  
  

    
Working pressure
    
100 PSI / 7 kg/cm²
  
  

    
Free air delivery (FAD)
    
270 CFM (≈ 7.64 m³/min)
  
  

    
Unloading pressure
    
95 PSI / 6.5 kg/cm²
  
  

    
Diesel tank capacity
    
100 L
  
  

    
Tyre pressure
    
130 PSI / 8.9 kg/cm²
  
  

    
Approx. trolley weight
    
~7800 kg
  
  

    
Max towing speed
    
20 km/h
  


How UGSSO₂ works (technical workflow)
Mode 1 — Build onboard reserve (external boosting into banks)
1.  Position the vehicle, establish a controlled operating zone, confirm oxygen-clean readiness.
2.  Connect inlet oxygen supply cylinders through the inlet interface.
3.  Purge/vent the inlet hose and interface to remove air/moisture.
4.  Connect drive air from the compressor trolley.
5.  Start Booster-I or Booster-II (or both for higher throughput).
6.  Monitor inlet pressure, booster outlet pressure, and bank pressures.
7.  Boost into selected bank(s) to the target storage pressure.
8.  Return the system to a safe baseline: close valves in defined sequence, depressurize where required, cap interfaces.

Mode 2 — Service aircraft oxygen units (distribution from onboard banks)
1.  Select the correct outlet port based on required pressure regime.
2.  Purge outlet hose and connect to aircraft charging interface.
3.  Select bank/cylinder supply by controlled opening of isolation and cylinder valves.
4.  Regulate charging pressure/flow and monitor continuously.
5.  Complete safe venting and shutdown; cap and stow hoses.

Mode 3 — Internal boosting (optimize onboard inventory)
1.  Select source bank/cylinder with usable residual pressure.
2.  Route flow through the internal boosting path to raise pressure in the target bank/cylinder.
3.  Monitor pressures and complete controlled shutdown.

Scope of supply (typical)
A typical UGSSO₂ package includes:
• Truck-mounted oxygen charging & distribution vehicle with protected canopy module
• Banked high-pressure oxygen storage skid
• Dual air-driven oxygen booster skid
• Rear operator station (boosting/storage + distribution)
• Oxygen purity monitoring/controller
• Fire detection and CO₂ total flooding suppression system
• Towable compressor trolley for booster drive air
• Standard hoses/adapters and basic tool/accessory kit (as configured)

Customization for international buyers
UGSSO₂ can be configured to suit regional standards and fleet requirements. Typical customization areas include:
• Aircraft charging interfaces/adapters and hose standards
• Outlet port strategy (pressure regime tuning and regulation philosophy)
• Storage capacity and bank configuration within vehicle constraints
• Labelling, language, and operator workflow preference
• Training, spares provisioning, and documentation package strategy

Ideal buyers and applications
• Air forces and naval aviation bases
• Aircraft MRO / overhaul facilities
• Training bases seeking standardization across crews
• Remote or expeditionary operations requiring mobile servicing
• Multi-base operators seeking a unified oxygen servicing platform