Moderate pressure liquid hydrogen storage for hybrid-electric propulsion system
AssigneeRaytheon Technologies Corporation
InventorsPeter Cocks, Jagadeesh Kumar Tangudu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A turbine engine according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, among other possible things includes, a liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank that is configured to maintain the liquid hydrogen fuel at a pressure greater than an external pressure and less than 20 bar, an electric machine that is in thermal communication with a liquid hydrogen fuel flow from the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank, the liquid hydrogen fuel flow is configured to maintain at least a component of the electric machine at an operating temperature below an ambient temperature, and a fuel system that is configured to receive gas hydrogen fuel flow and communicate the gas hydrogen fuel flow to a power generation device.
Claims25
A turbine engine, comprising:
- a liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank configured to maintain a liquid hydrogen fuel at a pressure greater than an ambient pressure and less than 20 bar;
- an electric machine in thermal communication with a liquid hydrogen fuel flow from the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank, the liquid hydrogen fuel flow configured to maintain at least a component of the electric machine at an operating temperature below an ambient temperature;
- a fan in flow communication with a compressor section that compresses inlet airflow from the fan and communicates a compressed core airflow to a combustor section where the compressed core airflow is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high energy exhaust gas flow that is expanded through a turbine section;
- a fuel/air heat exchanger disposed downstream of a high pressure compressor of the compressor section and upstream of the combustor section, the fuel/air heat exchanger configured to cool the compressed core airflow with the liquid hydrogen fuel flow;
- and
- a fuel system configured to receive a gas hydrogen fuel flow and communicate the gas hydrogen fuel flow to the combustor section.
An energy extraction system, comprising:
- a liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank configured to store a liquid hydrogen fuel at a pressure greater than an ambient pressure and less than 20 bar;
- an electric machine in thermal communication with a liquid hydrogen fuel flow configured to maintain at least a component of the electric machine at an operating temperature below an ambient temperature;
- at least one heat exchanger in thermal communication with the liquid hydrogen fuel flow and configured to provide thermal energy to the liquid hydrogen fuel, the at least one heat exchanger includes a fuel/air heat exchanger and a waste heat exchanger;
- and
- a combustor section of a gas turbine engine configured to use a gas hydrogen fuel flow derived from the liquid hydrogen fuel flow to generate a work output, wherein
- the fuel/air heat exchanger is disposed upstream of the combustor section and is configured to cool a core airflow communicated from a high pressure compressor section located upstream to the fuel/air heat exchanger and the waste heat exchanger is disposed downstream of the combustor section and configured to change the liquid hydrogen fuel into the gas hydrogen fuel flow.
A method of operating a turbine engine, comprising:
- storing a liquid hydrogen fuel in a storage tank at a pressure greater than an ambient pressure and less than 20 bar;
- maintaining an electric machine at an operating temperature below an ambient temperature by thermally communicating a liquid hydrogen fuel flow from the storage tank to at least a component of the electric machine;
- cooling a core airflow with a fuel/air heat exchanger in thermal communication with the liquid hydrogen fuel flow and located downstream of a high pressure compressor section and upstream of a combustor section;
- absorbing heat energy into the liquid hydrogen fuel flow using a waste heat exchanger in thermal communication with a heat source to transform the liquid hydrogen fuel flow into a gas hydrogen fuel flow;
- and
- generating a work output using the gas hydrogen fuel flow derived from the liquid hydrogen fuel flow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.