Development of fuel and heat management systems for liquid hydrogen powered aircraft

Abstract

The presentation describes the recent developments in the design of the fuel and heat management systems for liquid hydrogen powered aircraft within the H2020 project ENABLEH2. The fuel distribution system main task is to deliver the right amount of hydrogen to the combustion chamber at an adequate pressure. This requires the usage of fuel pumps, valves, insulated piping, and a fuel control system to adjust the fuel flow for a given engine rating. Moreover, since liquid hydrogen is stored at cryogenic temperatures (-253C), it also requires the integration of heat exchanger technology to increase the fuel temperature up to a state where it can be efficiently mixed with air and combusted. The combination of hydrogen high specific heat with cryogenic temperatures results in formidable cooling capacity that can be explored by compact heat-exchanger solutions. Concepts that use existing engine aero-surfaces located after rotating turbomachinery are currently being investigated a Chalmers University of Technology. A recently commissioned facility to investigate the potential benefits of a compressor flow cooling heat rejection system will also be discussed. The test facility comprises a vertically mounted low-speed 2.5 stage compressor designed to operate continuously at rotor mid-span chord Reynold number up to 600,000, which is representative of a large-size future geared turbofan engine. Detailed aerothermal studies at TRL4 will be conducted to calibrate in-house design methods for radical core integrated heat exchangers. The facility is driven by a 147kW electric drive at a nominal speed of 1920 RPM. Traverse access is included in two 18-degree sectors for all the rotor-stator interfaces. At the upstream plane of the compressor outlet-guide-vane, four independent access traverse systems are included for a 360-degree access. Downstream, an ABB robot arm with a U-shaped probe mount provides full volume probing access in the exit compressor duct.