Performance Analysis of Liquid Hydrogen Fueled Supersonic Aircraft Engines : On the Utilization of Cryogenic Energy of Liquid Hydrogen

Abstract

In supersonic aircraft engines with higher flight Mach number, the temperature of suction air is raised considerably by aerodynamic heating, which causes the degradation of such engine performances as the thermal efficiency and specific fuel consumption. If liquid hydrogen is used as fuel, cryogenic heat can be utilized to precool the suction air. In the present study, the effects of precooling by liquid hydrogen is estimated, considering the ideal precool cycle. The characteristics of the real engine cycle are also investigated. The configuration of the precooler has affected the cycle characteristics. The optimum configuration, therefore, is determined by adopting the new exergy efficiency based on the second law of thermodynamics.