Aircraft Turbine Steam Injection Layout for Stable Hydrogen Combustion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engines face inefficiencies in utilizing waste heat and flame stability issues with highly reactive fuels like hydrogen due to steam injection at certain mass flow ratios, leading to potential flame instability and dynamics during combustion.
Innovation Solution
A steam system is integrated into the turbine engine to recover waste heat by generating steam, which is injected into the core air flow path at controlled ratios to maintain stable combustion, enhancing mass flow and reducing the number of turbine stages while increasing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If steam is injected into the core air flow path at certain mass flow ratios, then thermal efficiency is improved through waste heat recovery, but flame stability deteriorates with highly reactive fuels like hydrogen
Solution Approach 1:
The steam injection system is divided into multiple independent injection locations along the core air flow path, allowing separate control of steam addition at different stages of combustion. This segmentation enables optimization of thermal efficiency while maintaining flame stability by controlling steam injection timing and location.
Solution Approach 2:
Different steam injection locations are provided at specific positions within the combustor to create locally optimized combustion conditions. The steam is injected at controlled ratios at specific locations rather than uniformly throughout, allowing local quality control to maintain flame stability while recovering waste heat.
2Device complexity
If the number of turbine stages is reduced to decrease weight and size, then device complexity is improved, but the ability to extract sufficient energy from combustion gases deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The steam injection changes the thermodynamic parameters of the combustion gases, specifically increasing mass flow and modifying temperature and pressure characteristics. This allows a reduced number of turbine stages to extract sufficient energy by operating with steam-enhanced combustion gases that have different energy extraction characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The combustion gases are transformed into a composite mixture of combustion products and steam, creating a steam-combustion gas mixture that has enhanced energy extraction properties. This composite fluid allows fewer turbine stages to achieve the required power output.
3Productivity
If steam injection ratio is increased to enhance mass flow, then productivity is improved, but flame stability deteriorates due to excessive steam in primary combustion zone
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple steam injection locations are provided at different positions within the core air flow path, allowing the steam injection to be segmented into zones. This enables mass flow enhancement in downstream regions while preventing excessive steam concentration in the primary combustion zone, thereby maintaining flame stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The steam injection ratio is controlled locally at each injection location rather than uniformly throughout the system. This allows high steam injection ratios in regions where they enhance mass flow and productivity, while maintaining low steam ratios in the primary combustion zone where flame stability is critical.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The steam system improves thermal efficiency, reduces turbine weight and size, and increases bypass ratio, achieving stable combustion with reactive fuels by optimizing steam injection locations and ratios, thereby enhancing overall engine performance.
Implementation Method 1
The steam system extracts water from the combustion gases and vaporizes the water to generate steam
Implementation Method 2
The steam system extracts water from the combustion gases
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine engine for an aircraft including a turbo-engine, a fan having a fan shaft coupled to the turbo-engine, and a steam system. The steam system is fluidly coupled to a core air flow path at a plurality of steam injection locations to selectively inject steam into the core air flow path at each of the plurality of steam injection locations, using a steam flow control valve. The plurality of steam injection locations include (i) an upstream steam injection location located to inject steam into the core air flow path at a primary combustion zone of a combustor or upstream thereof and (ii) a downstream steam injection location located to inject steam into the core air flow path downstream of the primary combustion zone.