Performance sensitivity of subsonic liquid hydrogen long-range tube-wing aircraft to technology developments
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Jagtap, Swapnil S
Childs, Peter RN
Stettler, Marc EJ
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Liquid hydrogen (LH2) may enable the decarbonisation of long-haul aviation. However, its
low volumetric energy density and subsequent tank space and weight requirements could
penalise an aircraft's specific energy consumption (SEC, MJ/tonne-km). We evaluate the
impacts of developments in four technology areas e aerodynamics, structures, cryo-tank
gravimetric index (h), and overall efficiency (ho) e on the design-point performance of a
large subsonic tube-wing LH2 aircraft. We characterise the critical value of h, which must be
exceeded to enable a given design range. For a design range of 14,000 km, h must exceed 0.52
today but only 0.35 with expected 2030 airframe and engine efficiency improvements. Using
the most optimistic technology development estimates we observe that SEC could reduce by
~25% via improvements in ho and aerodynamics and by 33% via improvements in all four
areas. Developments in technologies to improve ho and reduce drag are critical to enabling
zero-carbon long-haul air travel.
low volumetric energy density and subsequent tank space and weight requirements could
penalise an aircraft's specific energy consumption (SEC, MJ/tonne-km). We evaluate the
impacts of developments in four technology areas e aerodynamics, structures, cryo-tank
gravimetric index (h), and overall efficiency (ho) e on the design-point performance of a
large subsonic tube-wing LH2 aircraft. We characterise the critical value of h, which must be
exceeded to enable a given design range. For a design range of 14,000 km, h must exceed 0.52
today but only 0.35 with expected 2030 airframe and engine efficiency improvements. Using
the most optimistic technology development estimates we observe that SEC could reduce by
~25% via improvements in ho and aerodynamics and by 33% via improvements in all four
areas. Developments in technologies to improve ho and reduce drag are critical to enabling
zero-carbon long-haul air travel.
Date Issued
2024-01-02
Date Acceptance
2023-07-26
Citation
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2024, 50 (Part B), pp.820-833
ISSN
0360-3199
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
820
End Page
833
Journal / Book Title
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume
50
Issue
Part B
Copyright Statement
Copyright © Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.07.297
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2023-08-19