Rolls-royce Corporation

Jacopo Tacconi

Nicholas Grech

Chloe J Palmer

Robert John Miller

Matthew John Willshee

Nathan Clark

Chloe Jo Palmer

An aircraft propulsion system includes a gas turbine engine configured to burn hydrogen fuel supplied from a cooled hydrogen supply via a fuel conduit. A fuel offtake is configured and arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from the fuel conduit. A burner is configured to burn the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit with air bled from the core compressor via an offtake to produce exhaust gases. A heat exchanger is configured to transfer heat from the exhaust gasses produced by the burner to hydrogen fuel in the main fuel conduit.

Gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine fuel system includes a fuel offtake configured to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from a main fuel conduit, a burner configured to burn the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit, a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from exhaust gasses produced by the burner to hydrogen fuel in the main fuel conduit and a power recovery device configured to extract power from exhaust gasses of the burner downstream of the heat-exchanger.

Gas turbine engine fuel system

A combined gas turbine engine and hydrogen fuel cell system includes a hydrogen fuelled gas turbine engine, a cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel tank, a first fuel offtake configured and arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from a main fuel conduit, a burner configured and arranged to burn the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit, a heat exchanger configured and arranged to transfer heat from exhaust gasses produced by the burner to hydrogen fuel in the main fuel conduit, a second fuel offtake arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from the main fuel conduit downstream of the heat exchanger, and a hydrogen fuel cell configured and arranged to produce electric power using hydrogen fuel diverted from the second fuel offtake.

Combined gas turbine engine and fuel cell

A propulsive aircraft gas turbine engine comprises a turbine disposed in a gas turbine engine core flow and a recuperator heat exchanger disposed downstream of the turbine in gas turbine engine core flow, the recuperator heat exchanger being configured to transfer heat from the gas turbine engine core flow to gas turbine engine fuel. The recuperator heat exchanger is configured to accommodate a portion of the gas turbine engine core flow therethrough, the remainder being bypassed around the recuperator heat exchanger.

A gas turbine engine includes a core engine having a compressor, a combustor and a turbine in sequential air flow series. The engine further includes a fuel offtake configured and arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from a main fuel conduit, a burner configured and arranged to burn the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit and a heat exchanger configured and arranged to transfer heat from exhaust gasses produced by the burner to hydrogen fuel in the main fuel conduit. At least first and second compressor bleed offtakes are at different pressure stages of the compressor, each being configured to bleed a portion of air from the compressor. At least first and second compressor bleed offtake valves are configured to control flow through the first and second bleed offtakes respectively. The burner is configured to receive bleed air from the compressor bleed offtakes.

A combined cycle engine is formed of a gas turbine cycle coupled with a fuel expansion cycle in which fuel for the gas turbine cycle is the working fluid of the fuel expansion cycle. The fuel expansion cycle comprises, in flow series, a fuel pump for pumping a cryogenic fuel for the gas turbine cycle, a first heat exchanger for heating the fuel, an expander to recover power by expansion of the fuel and to thereby drive a load, and a second heat exchanger to reheat the fuel. The gas turbine cycle comprises, in flow series, a compressor, a combustor for combustion of reheated fuel delivered from the second heat exchanger, and a turbine configured to drive the compressor. The first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are stationed downstream of the combustor and configured to transfer heat from combustion products to the fuel in the fuel expansion cycle.

Combined cycles

A hydrogen-fuelled aircraft power system incorporates a gas turbine engine and a fuel cell, in which air supply and cooling of the fuel cell is integrated with the gas turbine engine to improve overall efficiency of the power system. The system may be part of a turbofan, turboprop or electric propulsion system for an aircraft.

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Derby, United Kingdom

Jacopo Tacconi