Aircraft Hydrogen Propulsion Assembly with Turbine-Spaced Bypass Pipes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The risk of hydrogen leakage due to turbine blade detachment in aircraft propulsion units using dihydrogen fuel is high, as a single hydrogen pipe is vulnerable to being cut by debris, leading to significant hydrogen release.
Innovation Solution
A network of multiple bypass pipes arranged around the turbine, with a rear and front manifold, reduces the risk of simultaneous pipe cuts by spacing them angularly and using smaller diameters, limiting hydrogen leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single hydrogen pipe is used to supply dihydrogen to the combustion chamber, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability deteriorates because the pipe is vulnerable to being cut by detached turbine blades
Solution Approach 1:
The single hydrogen pipe is segmented into multiple parallel pipes (at least three) arranged around the turbine. This segmentation ensures that if one pipe is cut by detached blades, other pipes remain intact to supply hydrogen, thus improving reliability while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular parallel architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates redundant hydrogen supply paths before any failure can occur. By pre-arranging multiple parallel pipes with sufficient spacing, the design cushions against the harmful effect of blade detachment, ensuring continuous hydrogen supply even when some pipes are compromised
2Device complexity
If pipes are arranged close to the turbine to minimize space, then the device complexity is reduced, but the object-affected harmful factors increase due to higher risk of pipe cuts from blade detachment
Solution Approach 1:
The pipes are positioned in specific locations around the turbine periphery rather than uniformly distributed. This local quality approach places pipes in zones less susceptible to blade debris while maintaining efficient hydrogen distribution, optimizing both safety and spatial utilization
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of arranging pipes in a single plane close to the turbine, the pipes are distributed in multiple dimensions around the turbine periphery at different angular positions. This spatial distribution in another dimension reduces exposure to blade debris while maintaining compact overall configuration
3Productivity
If larger diameter pipes are used to maintain hydrogen flow rate, then the productivity is improved, but the object-generated harmful factors increase due to higher hydrogen leakage risk upon pipe rupture
Solution Approach 1:
The total hydrogen flow requirement is segmented across multiple smaller diameter pipes rather than using a single large pipe. This segmentation maintains the required total productivity while limiting the maximum leakage quantity from any single pipe rupture to a manageable level
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of pipe diameter from large to small, compensating for the reduced individual pipe capacity by increasing the number of pipes. This parameter change reduces the harmful effect of leakage while maintaining overall productivity through parallel flow paths
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a propulsion assembly (151) for an aircraft comprising an engine (150) with a core (152) in a casing (154) and having a combustion chamber (158) and a turbine (160) with blades (161), a hydrogen supply line (170), an injector rail (184) equipped with injectors (185) that extend into the combustion chamber (158), and a distribution network (182) with several branch lines (186) distributed around the casing (154), a rear manifold (188) connected to the supply line (170) and the branch lines (186), and a front manifold (190) connected to the branch lines (186) and the injector rail (184), where the rear manifold (188) is located behind the turbine (160) and the front manifold (190) is in front of the turbine (160).With such an arrangement, even if a turbine blade breaks, not all the bypass pipes (186) will be severed simultaneously.