Hydrogen fuel aircraft engine assembly and aircraft

Abstract

Provided are a hydrogen fuel aircraft engine assembly, comprising an aircraft engine, an inner exhaust delivery pipe, a water vapor delivery pipe, and a water vapor recovery device, the aircraft engine comprising a core engine, the water vapor recovery device being arranged outside the aircraft engine and comprising a steam generator, a condenser, a first pipe, and a second pipe; wherein the steam generator is connected to the core engine through the inner exhaust delivery pipe and is used to receive inner exhaust from the core engine and as a heating source of the steam generator, the steam generator is connected to the condenser through the first pipe and is used to receive condensed water from the condenser to generate high-temperature water vapor using the inner exhaust, and the steam generator is further connected to the core engine through the water vapor delivery pipe to deliver the high-temperature water vapor to the core engine; the condenser is further connected to the steam generator through the second pipe to receive inner exhaust tail gas generated by the heated inner exhaust and to condense the inner exhaust tail gas to generate condensed water. Also provided is an aircraft.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft engines, and more specifically to the field of hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engines. Background Technology

[0002] Hydrogen-fueled aircraft engines use hydrogen as fuel. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen mix and burn in the combustion chamber, producing high-temperature, high-pressure combustion gases, which significantly increases the water vapor content in the combustion products. These high-temperature, water-vapor-containing exhaust gases are directly discharged into the atmosphere through the internal combustion chamber, wasting some energy and reducing the overall thermal cycle efficiency of the engine. Summary of the Invention

[0003] One object of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine component that can significantly improve the thermal cycle efficiency of a hydrogen aircraft engine.

[0004] The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly for achieving the above objectives includes an aircraft engine, an internal exhaust gas delivery pipe, a steam delivery pipe, and a steam recovery device. The aircraft engine includes a core engine. The steam recovery device is located outside the aircraft engine and includes a steam generator, a condenser, a first pipeline, and a second pipeline. The steam generator is connected to the core engine via the internal exhaust gas delivery pipe and receives internal exhaust gas from the core engine, which serves as the heating source for the steam generator. The steam generator is connected to the condenser via the first pipeline and receives condensate from the condenser, using the internal exhaust gas to evaporate the condensate and generate high-temperature steam. The steam generator is also connected to the core engine via the steam delivery pipe to supply the high-temperature steam to the core engine for power generation. The condenser is also connected to the steam generator via the second pipeline to receive and condense the internal exhaust gas generated by the heated internal exhaust gas to generate the condensate.

[0005] In one or more embodiments, the condenser includes an internal exhaust gas passage, a separation membrane component, and a condensate capture channel connected in sequence, wherein the internal exhaust gas passage is configured to be exposed to external air, and the external air serves as a cold source; the condenser also includes an impurity gas discharge port communicating with the condensate capture channel.

[0006] In one or more embodiments, the internal exhaust passage is formed into a finned structure.

[0007] In one or more embodiments, the steam generator includes an internal exhaust flow space and a condensate pipe, a steam drum, and a steam storage area connected in sequence. The condensate pipe is located within the internal exhaust flow space, and the steam storage area is connected to the steam delivery pipe.

[0008] In one or more embodiments, the steam generator includes a tube bundle heat exchange structure.

[0009] In one or more embodiments, the water vapor recovery device is disposed on the wing or fuselage of the aircraft.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, the water vapor recovery device is disposed on the skin, stringers, beams, or reinforcing frames of the aircraft.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly includes multiple aircraft engines, multiple internal exhaust delivery pipes, and multiple steam delivery pipes, with the core of each aircraft engine connected to a steam recovery device via each internal exhaust delivery pipe and steam delivery pipe.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, the aircraft engine is a turbofan engine.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide an aircraft including the aforementioned hydrogen fuel aircraft engine assembly.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, the aircraft includes a blended wing-body, on which the vapor recovery device is disposed.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, the aircraft includes a pair of aircraft engines located on the tail surface of the aircraft, and the vapor recovery device is disposed between the pair of aircraft engines.

[0016] In one or more embodiments, the aircraft includes a wing and an aircraft engine located below the wing, and the vapor recovery device is disposed on the wing.

[0017] The aforementioned hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components utilize a water vapor recovery device, which can efficiently recover water from the engine's internal exhaust and form high-temperature water vapor as a working medium to participate in the thermodynamic cycle, thereby improving the engine's thermodynamic cycle efficiency and enhancing its economic efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The above and other features, properties and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, wherein:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the location of the hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components within the blended wing-body structure.

[0020] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the thermodynamic cycle principle of a hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine component.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a water vapor recovery device;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of a steam generator;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the condenser's operating principle. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. More details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can obviously be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein. Those skilled in the art can make similar extensions and derivations based on actual application situations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should not be limited by the content of this specific embodiment.

[0026] It should be noted that these and other accompanying drawings are merely examples and are not drawn to scale, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] Carbon-fueled aircraft engines always contain CO2 in their exhaust emissions, failing to meet low-carbon requirements. Hydrogen combustion, as one of the most environmentally friendly combustion methods currently available, eliminates the need for combustion-free carbon emissions and other combustion pollutants, making it a highly promising zero-carbon fuel. When hydrogen fuel is used in engines, the water vapor content in the combustion products is significantly increased. Since water vapor has a significantly higher specific heat capacity than air, it can improve the turbine's work capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize this water vapor as one of the engine's working media to improve the thermal cycle efficiency of hydrogen-powered aircraft engines, reduce fuel consumption, and enhance economic efficiency.

[0028] Based on this, this disclosure proposes a hydrogen fuel-powered aero-engine with an exhaust water recovery system and a waste heat recovery system, which makes full use of the high water content in the exhaust gas of hydrogen aero-engines to achieve effective recovery and reuse of water vapor.

[0029] Reference Figure 3 Understanding is that the hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly includes an aircraft engine 2, an internal exhaust delivery pipe 4, a steam delivery pipe 5, and a steam recovery device 3. The steam recovery device 3 is located externally to the aircraft engine 2, forming a separate structure. Figure 2 As shown. Aircraft engine 2 includes, but is not limited to, a turbofan engine.

[0030] The aero-engine 2 further includes a fan 11, a compressor 12, a combustion chamber 13, a high-pressure turbine 14, and a low-pressure turbine 15, forming an outer bypass exhaust 17 and an inner core exhaust B. The compressor 12, combustion chamber 13, high-pressure turbine 14, and low-pressure turbine 15 form the core engine 30. Atmospheric air entering the aero-engine 2 is divided into two parts: a portion enters the outer bypass duct of the fan 11, forming the outer bypass exhaust 17 and generating thrust; the other portion enters the inner core duct and flows through the core engine. The high-pressure turbine 14 drives the compressor 12, and the low-pressure turbine 15 drives the fan 11. The inner core exhaust B is generated after passing through the low-pressure turbine 15.

[0031] The steam recovery device 3 includes a steam generator 6, a condenser 7, a first pipeline 8, and a second pipeline 16. The steam generator 6 is connected to the core engine 30 via an internal exhaust gas delivery pipe 4 to receive internal exhaust gas B from the core engine, which serves as the heat source for the steam generator. The steam generator 6 is also connected to the condenser 7 via the first pipeline 8 to receive condensate D from the condenser 7, using the internal exhaust gas B as the heat source to heat the condensate, causing it to evaporate and generate high-temperature steam E. The steam generator 6 is also connected to the core engine via a steam delivery pipe 5 to deliver the generated high-temperature steam E to the core engine, allowing it to enter the combustion chamber 13 of the engine 2 and participate in the overall engine thermodynamic cycle.

[0032] The condenser 7 is also connected to the steam generator 6 via a second pipe 16 to receive and condense the internal exhaust gas C generated by the heated internal exhaust gas B to produce condensate D, which serves as the source of the heated material for the steam generator 6.

[0033] In some embodiments, the condenser 7 uses high-altitude outside air 9 as a cold source to cool the internal exhaust gas C, causing it to generate condensate D. For example, in... Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the condenser 7 includes an inner exhaust gas passage 18, a separation membrane component 20, and a condensate capture channel 31 connected in sequence. The inner exhaust gas passage 18 is positioned to be exposed to the external air 9, using the high-altitude external air 9 as a cold source. The high-speed airflow characteristic of the external atmosphere during flight enhances the cooling effect. This airflow is used to cool the inner exhaust gas C, increasing the condensation heat exchange area and causing it to form liquid condensate D. The separation membrane component 20 includes a membrane; membrane-based condensation improves water recovery efficiency.

[0034] The condenser 7 also includes an impurity gas outlet 71 connected to the condensate capture channel. Based on the different freezing points of different substances, while condensate D is formed in the condenser 7, other components such as nitrogen, oxygen and other impurities and water vapor in the low-temperature exhaust can also be separated. This part of the impurity gas 10 is discharged into the atmosphere through the impurity gas outlet 71.

[0035] The internal exhaust gas passage 18 is preferably formed with a finned structure to enhance heat transfer.

[0036] exist Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the steam generator 6 includes an internal exhaust flow space P and a condensate pipe 61, a steam drum 63, and a steam storage area 62 connected in sequence. The internal exhaust flow space P accommodates the internal exhaust gas B, and the condensate pipe 61 is located within the internal exhaust flow space P so that the internal condensate D receives heat transferred from the internal exhaust gas B for evaporation. The steam generator preferably employs a tube bundle heat exchange structure, utilizing the high-temperature internal exhaust gas to heat the condensate in the pipes. The resulting steam enters the steam drum 63, where steam-water separation occurs. The steam drum 63 stores the steam and increases its dryness, thereby improving the steam quality.

[0037] The steam storage area 62 is connected to the steam delivery pipe 5, which sends high-temperature steam E into the combustion chamber 13 of the aircraft engine 2, where it works together with the air.

[0038] The aforementioned hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components utilize a water vapor recovery device to effectively recover water from the internal exhaust. This water vapor recovery device also features waste heat exchange, using the heat from the engine's internal exhaust to heat the recovered water, forming high-temperature water vapor. This high-temperature water vapor is then sent back to the combustion chamber to participate in the engine's overall thermodynamic cycle, thereby improving the engine's thermodynamic cycle efficiency.

[0039] Therefore, this structure improves the engine's thermodynamic cycle efficiency and reduces energy loss on the one hand, and reduces the complexity of engine system integration on the other. Compared with using exhaust water recovery from the engine's bypass, it greatly increases the heat exchange area. The membrane separation-based exhaust water recovery device improves the efficiency of water recovery and reduces the engine's bypass resistance.

[0040] Furthermore, since the exhaust water recovery system and waste heat recovery system have large size and weight issues, integrating them into a traditional engine nacelle would greatly increase the engine's overall dimensions and weight. Therefore, this hydrogen fuel cell aero-engine adopts a split-type blended wing-body design, which reduces the structural complexity of engine integration, reduces the overall flight drag and matching difficulty of the aircraft, helps improve the overall energy utilization efficiency of the aircraft, reduces the formation of aircraft exhaust contrails, and accelerates the achievement of aviation carbon neutrality.

[0041] As in Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, the water vapor recovery device 3 is installed on the aircraft.

[0042] In some embodiments, the aircraft includes a blended wing-body (BWB), a streamlined monolithic structure with a smooth transition between the fuselage and wings. A vapor recovery system is disposed on this blended wing-body.Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the use of a blended wing-body scheme in the tail section of the aircraft can also reduce the formation of low-profile aircraft exhaust contrails.

[0043] In other embodiments, the vapor recovery device is disposed on the aircraft fuselage, including but not limited to the aircraft skin, stringers, beams, or reinforcing frames.

[0044] In some other embodiments, the water vapor recovery device 3 may also be installed on the wing of the aircraft, for example, at the wing root or wing spars of a commercial aircraft engine.

[0045] Furthermore, multiple aircraft engines can share the same water vapor recovery unit 3, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the tail of the aircraft has two symmetrical hydrogen turbofan engines. All the exhaust gas B from the engine enters the water vapor recovery device 3. In the water vapor recovery device 3, the water in the exhaust gas B is recovered and the waste heat of the water is heated. The high-temperature water vapor E generated then returns to the combustion chamber of the aero-engine 2 to participate in the overall engine thermodynamic cycle.

[0046] Based on the above description of hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components, it is also possible to understand an aircraft that includes the aforementioned hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components.

[0047] exist Figure 1 In the first embodiment of the aircraft shown, the aircraft includes a pair of aircraft engines 2 located on the tail surface of the aircraft, a vapor recovery device 3 disposed between the pair of aircraft engines, and an exhaust delivery pipe 4 and a water vapor delivery pipe 5 located externally, connecting the vapor recovery device 3 and the aircraft engines 2.

[0048] In the second embodiment of the aircraft, the aircraft includes a wing and an aero engine located below the wing. The vapor recovery device 3 is disposed on the wing and forms a separate structure from the engine.

[0049] In the third embodiment of the aircraft, the aircraft includes a blended wing-body structure, on which the vapor recovery device is mounted. This structure rationally arranges the vapor recovery device, enabling the water recovery device and the waste heat exchange device to form a blended wing-body structure, achieving a separate arrangement on the aircraft. This reduces the structural complexity of engine integration, improves the degree of integration between the aircraft and the engine, enhances the overall energy utilization efficiency of the aircraft and the engine, and reduces the negative benefits brought about by the structural form.

[0050] Those skilled in the art will understand that the specific configuration of hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components includes, but is not limited to, the two embodiments described above.

[0051] It should be noted that the use of terms such as "first" and "second" to define components in the above description is merely for the purpose of distinguishing the corresponding components. Unless otherwise stated, the above terms have no special meaning, do not represent primary or secondary, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this application.

[0052] Furthermore, this application uses specific terms to describe embodiments of the application. For example, "an embodiment," "one embodiment," and / or "some embodiments" refer to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different locations in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, certain features, structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the application can be appropriately combined.

[0053] While the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. Any variations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent changes, and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention, without departing from the scope of the invention, fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine component, characterized in that, include: Aero engines, including core engines; Internal exhaust delivery pipe; Steam transport pipe; as well as A water vapor recovery device is installed outside the aircraft engine and includes a steam generator, a condenser, a first pipeline, and a second pipeline. The steam generator is connected to the core machine via the internal exhaust pipe to receive internal exhaust from the core machine, which serves as the heating source for the steam generator. The steam generator is also connected to the condenser via the first pipe to receive condensate from the condenser, which is then used to evaporate the condensate using the internal exhaust to generate high-temperature steam. The steam generator is also connected to the core machine via the steam delivery pipe to supply the high-temperature steam to the core machine to perform work. The condenser is also connected to the steam generator via a second pipeline to receive and condense the internal exhaust gas generated by the heated internal exhaust gas to produce the condensate.

2. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The condenser includes an inner exhaust gas passage, a separation membrane component, and a condensate capture channel connected in sequence. The inner exhaust gas passage is configured to be exposed to the outside air so that the outside air serves as a cold source. The condenser also includes an impurity gas outlet that is connected to the condensate capture channel.

3. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The internal exhaust gas passage forms a finned structure.

4. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The steam generator includes an internal exhaust flow space and a condensate pipe, a steam drum, and a steam storage area connected in sequence. The condensate pipe is located within the internal exhaust flow space, and the steam storage area is connected to the steam delivery pipe.

5. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The steam generator includes a tube bundle heat exchange structure.

6. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The water vapor recovery device is installed on the wing, fuselage, or blended wing-body of the aircraft.

7. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The water vapor recovery device is installed on the aircraft skin, stringers, beams, or reinforcing frames.

8. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly includes multiple aircraft engines, multiple internal exhaust pipes, and multiple steam pipes. The core of each aircraft engine is connected to a steam recovery device through each internal exhaust pipe and steam pipe.

9. The hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The aircraft engine is a turbofan engine.

10. An airplane, characterized in that, Includes hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine components as described in any one of claims 1-8.

11. The aircraft as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The aircraft includes a blended wing-body, and the vapor recovery device is disposed on the blended wing-body.

12. The aircraft as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The aircraft includes a pair of aircraft engines located on the surface of the aircraft's tail, and the vapor recovery device is disposed between the pair of aircraft engines.

13. The aircraft as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The aircraft includes wings and an aircraft engine located below the wings, and the vapor recovery device is mounted on the wings.

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