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US 12,589,882 B2Granted
Shared cryogenic bottoming cycle
AssigneeRtx Corporation
InventorsBrandon M. Evans, Neil J. Terwilliger, Melissa Coombes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aircraft propulsion system includes at least two gas turbine engines and a bottoming cycle system where a working fluid is circulated within a closed circuit that includes a bottoming compressor section and a bottoming turbine section. Each of the at least two gas turbine engines include a primary heat exchanger for communicating thermal energy into the working fluid of the bottoming cycle.
Claims19
An aircraft propulsion system comprising:
- at least two gas turbine engines that each include a compressor that pressurizes an inlet flow that is mixed with a cryogenic fuel and ignited in a combustor to generate an exhaust gas flow that is expanded through a turbine to generate shaft power and a propulsive fan driven by the turbine;
- a bottoming cycle system where a working fluid is circulated within a closed circuit comprising a bottoming compressor section and a bottoming turbine section, wherein the working fluid is compressed in the bottoming compressor section and expanded through the bottoming turbine section to generate shaft power, wherein each of the at least two gas turbine engines includes a primary heat exchanger for communicating thermal energy into the working fluid of the bottoming cycle system;
- and
- a fuel system comprising a cryogenic fuel storage tank and a fuel flow path for routing the cryogenic fuel to each of the at least two gas turbine engines, wherein a fuel/working fluid heat exchanger provides thermal communication between the cryogenic fuel and the working fluid to cool a flow of the working fluid from the bottoming turbine section to the bottoming compressor section, wherein the bottoming cycle system comprises at least two bottoming cycles that each comprise a separate closed circuit for separate flows of the working fluid, and a separate fuel/working fluid heat exchanger in which the cryogenic fuel is placed in thermal communication with a corresponding one of the separate flows of the working fluid of each of the at least two bottoming cycles.
1 more element
An aircraft propulsion system comprising:
- at least two gas turbine engines that each include a compressor that pressurizes an inlet flow that is mixed with a cryogenic fuel and ignited in a combustor to generate an exhaust gas flow that is expanded through a turbine to generate shaft power and a propulsive fan driven by the turbine;
- a bottoming cycle system including at least two bottoming cycles that each include a working fluid circulated within a closed circuit comprising a bottoming compressor section and a bottoming turbine section, wherein the working fluid is compressed in the bottoming compressor section and expanded through the bottoming turbine section to generate shaft power, wherein each of the at least two gas turbine engines includes a primary heat exchanger for communicating thermal energy into the working fluid of the bottoming cycle system;
- a fuel system comprising a cryogenic fuel storage tank and a fuel flow path for routing the cryogenic fuel to the combustor of each of the at least two gas turbine engines through each of the at least two bottoming cycles in series, wherein each of the at least two bottoming cycles includes a fuel/working fluid heat exchanger that provides thermal communication between the cryogenic fuel and the working fluid within a corresponding one of the at least two bottoming cycles.
A method of configuring an aircraft propulsion system comprising:
- configuring at least two gas turbine engines to generate an exhaust gas flow;
- configuring a bottoming cycle system including at least two bottoming cycles that each include a working fluid circulated within a closed circuit comprising a bottoming compressor section and a bottoming turbine section, wherein each of the at least two gas turbine engines includes a primary heat exchanger for communicating thermal energy into the working fluid of the bottoming cycle system;
- and
- configuring a cryogenic fuel system comprising a cryogenic fuel storage tank and a fuel flow path for routing the cryogenic fuel to a combustor of each of the at least two gas turbine engines through each of the at least two bottoming cycles in series, wherein each of the at least two bottoming cycles includes a fuel/working fluid heat exchanger that provides thermal communication between the cryogenic fuel and the working fluid within a corresponding one of the at least two bottoming cycles.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.