Revolutionizing Aviation with Hydrogen-Powered Engines: A Collaborative Research Project
Key Ideas
- A £9.5M grant supports a project by top UK universities to achieve net-zero aviation emissions by 2050.
- The project focuses on developing hydrogen-powered jet engines due to hydrogen's emission-free combustion properties.
- Researchers aim to address challenges like colder fuel delivery and new burner architectures for hydrogen combustion.
- Imperial College London leads a workpackage on combustion dynamics in hydrogen-fuelled jet engines with a focus on simulation tools and burner architecture effects.
The University of Oxford, Imperial College London, Loughborough University, and King’s College London have embarked on a groundbreaking project to revolutionize aviation by achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. A £9.5 million grant from EPSRC will support this ambitious endeavor. The project is centered around the development of hydrogen-powered jet engines, with hydrogen being recognized as the key to sustainable aviation due to its emission-free combustion, only producing water vapor. However, the utilization of hydrogen in combustion presents challenges like colder and more compressible fuel delivery, necessitating new burner architectures due to hydrogen's unique properties.
Imperial College London will lead a specific workpackage focusing on Combustion dynamics in hydrogen-fuelled jet engines. This workpackage will involve the development of hydrogen-capable simulation tools, exploring the impact of different burner architectures, advancing acoustic modeling of hydrogen combustors, and researching new acoustic dampers and cooling concepts. The collaborative effort includes Loughborough University conducting combustor experiments, the University of Oxford performing fuel line experiments and simulations, and strengthening Imperial's combustion simulation ties with Stanford University.
Professor Aimee Morgans highlighted the significance of multi-institutional collaboration in addressing complex combustion dynamics to achieve low emissions without compromising engine performance. The project signifies a major step towards sustainable aviation, with a focus on leveraging hydrogen's environmentally friendly combustion properties to pave the way for a greener future in the aviation industry.