Development of Thermal Management Systems for a Regional Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft

March 17, 2025

This work studies the feasibility of integrating a hydrogen-powered propulsion system in a regional aircraft. The developed system consists of Fuel Cells, which will be studied at three technological levels, and batteries, also studied for four hybridization factors (X = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20). Hydrogen can absorb great thermal loads since it is stored in the tank at cryogenic temperatures and is used as fuel in the Fuel Cells at around 80°C. Taking advantage of this characteristic, two thermal management system (TMS) architectures were developed to ensure the proper functioning of the aircraft during the designated mission: A1, which includes a vapor compression system (VCS), and A2, which omits it for a simpler design. The models were developed in Matlab and consist of different components and technologies commonly used in such systems. The analysis reveals that A2, due to the exclusion of the VCS, outperformed A1 in weight (10-23% reduction), energy consumption, and drag. A1’s TMS required significantly more energy due to the VCS compressor. Hybridization with batteries increased system weight substantially (up to 37% in A2) and had a greater impact on energy consumption in A2 due to additional fan work. Hydrogen’s heat sink capacity remained underutilized, and the hydrogen tank was deemed suitable for a non-integral fuselage design. A2 had the lowest emissions (10-20% lower than A1 for X = 0), but hybridization negated these benefits, significantly increasing emissions in pessimistic scenarios.

Authors in the community:

• 

  M

  Manuel Da Cunha Filipe

  ist189694

Supervisors of this institution:

• 

  A

  Afzal Suleman

  ist13672

• 

  F

  Frederico Afonso

  ist156309

mechanical-engineering - Mechanical engineering

eng - English

Instituto Superior Técnico