48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit 30 July - 01 August 2012, Atlanta, Georgia

AIAA 2012-4267

A Review of Hydrogen as a Fuel for Future Air Transport

Bhupendra Khandelwal1, Paulas R. Sekaran2, Adam Karakurt3, Vishal Sethi4, Riti Singh5 Dept. of Power and Propulsion, School of Engineering, Cranfield University, UK, MK43 0AL

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Innovations in propulsion system have been the key driver for the progress in air transportation and it is expected to grow at a rapid pace. This incurs challenges in aircraft noise reduction and regulation of hazardous emissions. This paper address the issues associated to reduction in hazardous emissions by investigating the properties and traits of hydrogen. Hydrogen as a fuel is most likely to be the energy carrier for the future of aviation due to its potential zero emissions. A historical review has been carried out on hydrogen usage in aerospace industry till today. The challenges of using hydrogen as a fuel for aero applications have been laid down. The paper also shows various strategies analyzed in order to evaluate hydrogen's feasibility which includes production, storage, engine configurations and aircraft configurations.

Nomenclature
AAN CH4 CO CO2 GE GH2 GWP HALE H 2O LDI LH2 MLI NOx O3 UAV UHC = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = army after next methane carbon-monoxide carbon-dioxide general electric gaseous hydrogen global warming potential high altitude long endurance water lean direct injection liquid hydrogen multi layer insulation oxides of nitrogen ozone unmanned aerial vehicle unburned hydrocarbons

I. Introduction ccording to the leading experts the aviation industry is expected to grow continuously, at a rapid pace in the coming few decades. Commercial sectors are projected to increase in the order of 5% and more than that for 1-4 cargo transportation, despite the downturn in the current world economy . This increase is due to the tendency in developing countries now requiring addition travel and cargo. Hence aviation appears to be the fastest growing industry for the next two to three decades. Also, there is a requirement to limit the dependency on fossil fuels. Although opinions about the exact date of perilously low levels may vary but the supply of fossil fuels are expected to be exhausted sometime in this century.

1 2

Researcher, Dept. of P&P, Cranfield University, UK, MK43 0AL, Student member Student, Dept. of P&P, Cranfield University, UK, MK43 0AL, askforpaulas@yahoo.com, non-member 3 Student, Dept. of P&P, Cranfield University, UK, MK43 0AL, adamkarakurt89@gmail.com, non-member 4 Research Fellow, Dept. of P&P, Cranfield University, UK, MK43 0AL, v.sethi@cranfield.ac.uk, non-member 5 Emeritus Professor, Dept. of P&P, Cranfield University, UK, MK43 0AL, r.singh@cranfield.ac.uk 1 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Copyright 2012 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Innovations in propulsion systems have been the primary driver for the progress in air transportation. Due to advances in propulsion performance and efficiency, aircraft have the ability to travel at higher speeds over longer 4 distances with the capability of carrying larger payloads . Present air traffic contributes to about 3% to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. This number may alter due to an increase of air traffic in the near future and additionally the strategy to decrease major CO2 producers of today will vary this figure as well. Figure 1 shows the challenges involved with future propulsion systems. Pollutants and particles that are emitted into the environment have a negative effect on our global climate. Whilst pollution is created directly from the combustion of fuel it is also formed by power production and consumption. The power produced is sourced from energy in fuel that is extracted from reserves, refined and then transported. During the extraction, refinement and transportation pollutants are being discharged before the fuel has even been combusted. This is usually over looked when comparing typical carbon based fuels with hydrogen. Hydrogen is a suitable energy storage medium that is free of carbon and other impurities; it is also the most abundant element in the universe allowing it to be Figure 1. Key challenges for a propulsion system5 easily sourced. Hydrogen was enthusiastically studied during the last fuel crisis, with the current trend of increased fuel prices together with environmental considerations; hydrogen is again being examined as an answer for a long term energy solution. Although hydrogen cannot be the answer alone, it must be utilized with current day technology to truly go into operation. II. Historical review of Hydrogen Aircraft

Hydrogen was used for the first time in aeronautics for the inflation of balloons. Earlier balloons flew using hot air as a lifting medium. On December 1, 1783 just two weeks after the ground breaking Montgolfier flight, the French physicist Jacques Charles and Nicolas Robert flew the maiden gas balloon using hydrogen. This model 6. (Charlire Hydrogen Balloon) was 26 ft in diameter was launched and carried two passengers Early in the 20th century, a German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin pioneered a type of rigid airship known as A Zeppelin which was the first airship to fly with hydrogen as fuel. It was based on his design outlined in 1874 and was detailed in 7-8 1893 . Figure 2 shows the evolution of hydrogen in aviation as a fuel. Von Ohain is the pioneer, in using hydrogen as an alternate fuel for aero-derivative gas turbine. In 1937, he ran successfully a gas turbine fuelled by hydrogen. It was tested in a rig and named as Heinkel-Strahltriebwerk 1 8 (HeS-1) experimental engine. The engine was a turbojet which produces 250 lbs of thrust . A couple of decades later, in 1956 Pratt & Whitney were asked by US Air Force to find the feasibility of liquid hydrogen fuel for aero engines. The research was done by modifying the J57 engine for hydrogen fuelled injection. Further research work performed altitude test for 3 turbojet engines (J-47, J-65-B-3 and J71-A-11). As laboratory testing was not adequate to establish the reliability of using LH2 in aircraft, flight tests were executed establishing in-flight 9 performance statistics . A modified J-65 turbojet engine with a separate hydrogen supply system was installed in a US Air force B-57 twin-engine bomber for the flight tests. It was the first aircraft to fly using liquid hydrogen 10 pressurized with helium in one of its engines . Since that time, the US has started several other projects like the CL-400 airplane, the US Space Program and the Space Shuttle Program all utilized liquid hydrogen. In the 1970s hydrogen as a fuel renewed its interest due to consequences of the oil crisis. Since the beginning of 1970s, several studies were carried out by General Electric (GE) and NASA to explore the procedure of hydrogen as an alternate fuel for use in gas turbines. GE evaluated 11 unconventional cycles, using hydrogen for aircraft propulsion system . In 1988, the Soviets tested hydrogen with a modified TU-154 aircraft (renamed TU-155), with one engine operating on hydrogen. During 1991, the Soviet Union and Germany announced their agreement to work together on liquid hydrogen fuelled commercial prototype, which is similar to the A310 at an estimated range of 500 15 miles . There are two different projects of Cryoplane designs for subsonic aircraft adopted by NASA-Langley 2 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Research Centre and the Russian-German Cooperative Venture on the basis of an existing Airbus A310. The Russian-German Cooperative Venture established a design with hydrogen tanks on the top of the fuselage and small amount of fuel on the wings, which intently reduces wing size. The NASA project was to have two spherical tanks for hydrogen, in order to reduce the surface to volume ratio. It was designed for 400 passengers, at a cruise 12 speed of Mach 0.85 and a range of 5500 nautical miles .

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Figure 2. Evolution of hydrogen in aviation industry 5 In 1998, the Army After Next (AAN) annual report states, An absolute imperative exists to develop alternative fuels for AAN-era forces. Furthermore, it is stated that The development of hydrogen -based vehicles are a national necessity for AAN platforms. In 2000, the European Commission funded a consortium of 35 partners from the aviation sector, led by Airbus Deutschland called CRYOPLANE project, for the system analysis of air craft fuelled by LH2. The investigation aim was to have a strong platform for initiating large scale activity for the development of alternate fuel and the introduction of LH 2 fuel for aviation. Different configurations of aircraft were studied and a transition of aviation fuel was investigated during these 26 months of study lead by 13 Airbus Deutschland . The fuel tanks must be 4 times larger when compared to conventional aircraft fuel storage. Due to this excessive surface area of the tanks, consumption of energy would increase from 9 to 14%. Overall operating costs of hydrogen fuelled aircraft would increase from 4% to 5% based on fuel alone 13-14. AeroVironment built and tested the worlds first LH2 powered UAV (Unmanned Ariel Vehicle) successfully during 2005. The prototype built, demonstrated the robustness and the practicality involved in enabling the 15 concept of a Global Observer Operation System . III. Hydrogen Production

There are several different processes of hydrogen production available broadly, divided into three categories 16 named from renewable resources, nuclear energy and fossil fuel . A summary of all the processes have been 17 shown in Figure 3. Various chemical methods have also been studied by researchers for production of hydrogen . There are two main methods which are being used today for the production of hydrogen, from current technology 18 to state of the art. For the majority (97%) of hydrogen production natural gas steam reforming is used . This is mainly due to the economic benefit of production by this method, which is unlikely to change in near future. The other major production method is electrolysis of water. The major benefit of hydrogen production with electrolysis 3 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

of water is use of almost all sources of primary energy. Production of hydrogen from sunlight offers large environmental benefits, especially if the cost of production could be decreased and efficiency of production could 19 be improved . Electrolysis of water is a process where water is decomposed into oxygen and hydrogen by forcing electric current flow through the water. Production of hydrogen by electrolysis could be renewable or nonrenewable depending on the source of electricity production. Electricity could be produced from renewable sources as solar, wind, geo-thermal or from non-renewable sources as gas, oil and coal. Normally hydrogen production by fossil fuel is the most efficient method, considering hydrogen production and delivery. The overall 20 efficiency is estimated around just over 50 % for fossil fuel, 40 % for biomass and 53 % for gases . 21 Sarigiannis and Kornberger studied different renewable energy based methods for the production of hydrogen based on Life Cycle Assessments of technology. Production of electricity to fabricate hydrogen was considered being produced from renewable sources. They concluded that low emissions could be achieved by using wind and hydropower energy sources even for long distance transports. Production of hydrogen by biomass can also result in low emissions on the condition that biomass is produced locally for avoiding transportation. For production of hydrogen 21 Figure 3. Hydrogen production paths . through electrolysis, large amounts of desalted water and electricity 22 would be required. Kronberger studied production of hydrogen by electrolysis. He found that for producing 50,000 kg/day of hydrogen, 105 MW of electricity and 28 m 3/hr desalt water would be required considering an efficiency of 80 %. At the same time a liquefaction plant would consume 25,400 kW of electricity for main 23 22 electrical power, 155 kW for control electrical power; for an output of 50,000 kg/day of hydrogen . Kronberger also studied uses of biomass for hydrogen. He found that for producing 50,000 kg/day of hydrogen 490,000 kg of 24 dry biomass would be required resulting in 179x106 kg biomass per year. Sevenson compared the amount of energy, in terms of biomass, that would be required to power all aviation refueling in Sweden with hydrogen, with the potential of biomass supply in Sweden. He concluded that the amounts required for aviation are not unreasonably large. However, it requires that the biomass use would be enlarged. Production of hydrogen by fossil fuel is a good option, but it again leaves the problem of emissions and depleting fossil fuel resources. Looking at the short term goal and cost effectiveness, hydrogen produced from fossil fuel reformation is an effective method. Under this transition phase it might be reasonable to employ this 19 method to reduce production costs, particularly if the CO 2 is extracted and sequestered in reservoirs or utilized . Electrolysis of water and gasification of biomass are promising technologies for future. Considering the progress in research and development of hydrogen production methods it can be said that in the long run there are likely to be sustainable hydrogen production methods. Hydrogen productions in photo-chemical and photo-biological systems using sunlight are examples that probably will offer large environmental benefits in the future if 24 successfully developed . It is clear that civil aviation with hydrogen will not necessarily indicate that emissions of greenhouse gases are eradicated, since greenhouses gases may be released during the hydrogen production. Production of hydrogen by nuclear energy is also a substantially important production method for low emissions. IV. Fuel tank Configurations

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Tank Configuration The key driver in tank configuration will be to maximize the hydrogen available in a lightweight and low boil-off system. Storage of hydrogen can be of pressurized gas as a hydride or in as liquid hydrogen (LH2). Other 4 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

forms of storage forms appear to be impossible for airborne application because of their excessive weight or 25, 26 volume . During selection of tank configuration tank shape and tank insulation plays a vital role. Tank Shape LH2 has a very low density, with respect to other liquids which results in its larger volumes. Hence the weight of LH2 required to be carried on-board for a particular mission will be less than any other cooling fluid. The tank shape depends upon several issues mainly, fuselage and the type of tank matters a lot. Non-integral tanks act as a fuel container and have to be mounted in a conventional fuselage/skin/frame structure. Hence this type of configuration has to resist the loads associated with fuel containment. In this method, the tank is kept outside the fuselage. The main constraints in designing non-integral tanks are the aerodynamics effect and the integration problem. Integral tanks forms as an integral part of the airframe structure. Hence, it should resist stresses such as fuselage axial, bending and shear forces resulting from aircraft loading. The main constraint in designing an integral tank is that the fuselage drives the geometry (diameter) of LH 2 storage tank. Integral tank configuration seems to be only feasible configuration for wide body aircraft. In Cryoplane project, the tanks were kept over the fuselage and across the wings. This gave the chance to increase the LH2 carrying capacity but this lead to a thick and heavy tank wall and many stiffeners since the tank shape was not adopted well according to the pressurization requirement. Therefore, possible shapes are spherical 27 and cylindrical tank shapes with diameter equal to the fuselage diameter . Spherical LH2 tanks are being used in space application because it requires less surface area for the given volume. The boil-off rate is less because the there is lesser passive heat flux into the spherical tank shape. Given that advantages provided by spherical tanks it 25 has a problem in manufacturing and it has a higher frontal area compared to cylindrical shaped tanks . On the other side it is easier to manufacture a cylindrical tank shapes but the drawback it has higher surface area to volume ratio which results in higher passive heat load into the tank. Cylindrical tanks are easier to be integrated inside the fuselage and they give higher volumetric efficiency. Hence, the space inside the fuselage can be used in 26 an optimum way . Tank Insulation There are two types of insulations that can be applied for a tank. They are internal insulation and external insulation. In case of internal insulation, the insulation is exposed always to LH 2 which is at cryogenic temperature but due to heat transfer effect the LH2 changes its state to GH2 will occur. The GH2 causes diffusion into the tank wall which will inturn increase the thermal conductivity of the insulation, thereby crippling its 26 effectiveness. Another problem involved with this insulation method is the system must be impermeable to GH2 . When the tank is insulated on the outside then it is known as external insulation. In this case, primarily there will be an expansion and contraction of tank, as LH2 is filled and utilised. Secondly, there is a problem of attachment because of structural support system and the dimension of the tank increases as well. External insulation is easily 38 subjected to mechanical damage and it has to withstand the impact load . In the Cryoplane project, Air Liquide 27 also adopted the external insulation method . But these drawbacks can be solved when compared to the problems with internal insulation system. The key challenge involved in LH2 storage is mass of boil-off which leads to loss of hydrogen. Boil-off is the phenomena that occur when liquid boils and changes its state into its gaseous form because of heat transfer and escapes by permeation. LH2 boil-off depends upon thermal insulation and tank 28,29 30 geometry . Tanks need to be equipped with effective insulation in order to minimize boil-off . The design parameters for LH2 storage tanks are determined by LH2 temperatures, operating pressure and insulation thickness. Different types of insulations which could be potentially suitable for carrying LH 2 for airborne applications are illustrated below. Multilayer insulation Multilayer insulation system uses a number of thermal radiation shields perpendicular to the direction heat flow31. MLI usually consists of reflective foil over the outer side of inner tank wall to minimize the transport of radiation heat. Generally, the radiation shields are alternate layers of metal foil and a thin insulating material like glass fiber, polyester etc. to avoid metal to metal contact. With increase in number of heat shields, additional heat transfer takes place due to conduction. The optimal numbers of layers that can be used are about 60 and 100 layers. MLI insulations performance depends on the pressure and type of residual gas in the insulation. The 32 thermal behavior of MLI degrades quickly for pressures higher than 0.001 mbar . MLI insulations are very sensitive to the layer density so that local compression must be avoided during manufacturing. The most important 5 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

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parameter for an insulation system to be used in aeronautical applications is low thermal conductivity, low emissivity and a low density. Overall the finished product of a LH 2 storage tank with MLI layers will be heavier in weight. Vacuum insulation The vacuum process seems to be a perfect solution for minimizing the mass of boil-off. But practically it is 33 impossible to attain a vacuum and therefore venting equipments are necessary in the vacuum region . The interaction between LH2 and the air has to be avoided by sealing materials to prevent air entering and freezing 33 inside the tank system. If the air freezes in the flow lines, LH 2 flow will be blocked . The tank wall thickness must be sufficient enough to withstand the buckling, since the vacuum jacket is subjected to external pressure. Additional stiffeners are required between the (vacuum jacket shell) outer wall and the inner wall which increases 34 the weight of the tank . External equipment is required to suck the air and maintain the pressure at the vacuum chamber. The Vacuum insulation technique is adopted in space applications for the storage of LH2. Several research activities have taken place for vacuum insulation and it seems to be a promising solution for a LH 2 storage tank. This type of concept is well established but heavier tank walls are required, which are expensive to 35 implement and to maintain the temperature and pressure in the vacuum . Foam insulation Generally, the materials used for foam insulation have very low density and thermal conductivity. The rigid foam insulation is applied outside the inner tank wall and a thin metal wall required to be surrounded around the 36 foam to maintain its structural stability to withstand and protect it from external forces . The foam insulation 28 concept is more resistant to catastrophic failure than the vacuum-jacketed insulation . The insulation thickness of the tank depends upon the insulation material properties, tank size, allowable boil-off and overall allowable tank weight. Foam insulation is low cost, easy to implement and light weight. Vacuum-jacketed and multilayer insulation has been investigated for quite some time and in the case of loss of vacuum it might cause catastrophic failure whereas in foam insulation the chances of catastrophic failure are less. V. Hydrogen Aircraft Configurations

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Hydrogen powered aircraft must comply with some practical configurations so that the typical performance and handling requirements of airline operation could be met. This has to be done without undue need for 18 infrastructure and ground equipment inconsistent with current aviation industry. Sefain studied various configurations of hydrogen powered aircrafts to incorporate large LH 2 fuel volume with minimum penalty and optimum performance benefits. In his study medium range aircrafts were considered. A team of researchers and experts worked in this study to work-out several configurations. Twin Tail-Boom and Tail-Tank Concepts as shown in Figure 4 are selected as most appropriate configurations from a pool of various configurations studied.

Figure 4. Twin Tail-Boom and Tail-Tank Concepts

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It is proposed that in Twin-Boom configuration external slender booms were utilised as hydrogen fuel tanks and also as a structural booms interconnecting the wing and tail surface together. In a Tail-Tank configuration, a 6 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

tank was placed above the fuselage, physically separated it from the aircraft. Tank is interconnected by an abovefuselage pylon and the tail plane. Three different concepts have been shown in Figure 5 which explains the different configuration of aircraft for LH2 storage. In Figure 5 (a & b) hydrogen tank storage has been shown at the top and the end of fuselage, whereas in Figure 5 (c) it is proposed that hydrogen is stored in front and end of 13 the fuselage . VI. Hydrogen Aircraft Engine Hydrogen has a tendency to flash back and produce high temperature flames which in turn lead to higher NOx emissions. Figure 6 represents a comparison between Hydrogen and Kerosene flame stability limits. Whilst Hydrogen has a much higher temperature at its stoichiometric ratio, it can burn stable at significantly leaner ratios. Leaner equivalence ratios will attain low temperature flames avoiding the high temperatures associated with stoichiometric conditions. With leaner equivalence ratios the mixing intensity is required to increase, as to eliminate local hotspots and to enable the fuel to effectively mix producing a balanced flame profile. Burning the fuel requires changes in the combustor to avoid high temperatures and to provide effective mixing to take full advantage of hydrogen's attributes at leaner conditions. Although if we take into account hydrogen's attributes such as its high flame speeds, its low temperature from its cryogenic state and its major concern of flashback with flame propagation then we must consider systems to establish redundancy and reliability. Considering hydrogen's journey right from the cryogenic tanks, from startup it can be given that the fuel lines are unquestionably void of H2 Figure 5. Hydrogen Aircraft with different hydrogen due to its likely hood to escape over time and tank configurations13 there will most likely be ambient air present. With ambient air present in the fuel lines a large risk of flask back is presented immediately, during the start up cycle of the engine. To eliminate this risk, the fuel lines must be purged with an inert gas, cheaply nitrogen can be used to flush the lines, although the solidification of gases via liquid hydrogen must be considered which will cause fuel flow issues. This will also be required during shut down, flushing the fuel lines will eliminate this flashback risk entirely, Dahl and Suttrop37 have tested this method proving its reliability. Although before the fuel has even entered the combustion chamber it must be preheated to ensure the fuel has fully vaporized under its maximum flow rate from the cryogenic storage tank. To perform this effectively and safely a heat exchanger is required to provide extra energy. Placing fuel lines in hot sections of the engine are not recommended as fuel leaks will immediately ignite causing a large flammability risk. A heat exchanger will transport heat away from hot sections of the engine, be it the exhaust spokes, turbine section, combustion chamber or the high pressure compressor stage. Taking heat away from the hot engine sections will aid in reducing the amount of energy required for combustion, ensuring the fuel Figure 6. Temperature Characteristics Hydrogen and is completely in a gaseous state before Kerosene38 injection. This will provide more advantages increasing thermal efficiency, increasing component life and resilience to temperature abuse, taking full advantage of the heat sink potential. During start up the engine will require an electrical heater to provide an 7 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

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increase in fuel temperature and once the engine has reached idle rotational speed the heat exchange can resume operations. A metering system will be required to alter the liquid and gas fuel flow rate under different power conditions of the engine. A metering system was also described by Dahl and Suttrop37 that provided reactive hydrogen feed to the engine under fluctuating power conditions.

VII.

Hydrogen Combustors

Although the combustion of hydrogen is more complicated than just an adjustment of the air to fuel ratio and is predominantly dependent on combustor geometry39. The use of hydrogen addition to conventional fuels produce improved results although pure hydrogen use in conventional combustors has results that are inferior to conventional fuels37.This is due to the combustors geometry being inadequate to effectively mix the fuel and air. When hydrogen is combusted in a conventional chamber large diffusive flames are formed where stoichiometric ratios appear around the flame causing very high temperatures and in turn high NO x emissions40. To elude inadequate combustion all flame attributes of combustion must be considered such as flame stability, combustion efficiency, acoustics and other vital diagnostics. For this reason studies have been performed to design and research novel combustor concepts to effectively combust hydrogen realizing its full potential. There are two concepts of hydrogen combustors that pose the most likely designs to be further adapted into combustor configurations. The two concepts are the Lean Direct Injection (LDI) investigated by NASA with Marek et al.41 and the Micro mix concepts investigated by Dahl and Suttrop37. Both designs have been proven as concepts with actual combustion tests performed. The two concepts are quite similar in their methodology. Both concepts have established that flashback is of primary concern with the desire to increase fuel mixing. The mixing intensity of hydrogen and air is greatly increased in both designs to avoid large diffusion flames forming that result in higher NOx emissions. By increasing the mixing intensity, the flame length will be reduced having completed combustion earlier with reduced residence time. As Figure 7. Micro-mix cross-section40 NOx is both dependant on temperature and residence time, increasing the mixing intensity will enable very low NOx emissions. It was established that the injection methods of H2 are crucial in acquiring effective combustion, for this reason further investigations have been performed to illustrate the attributes of alternative fuel injection. The LDI method resulted in reduced NOx levels with no flashback or auto ignition phenomena occurring41. Studies of micro mix combustors were formerly 37 performed by Dahl and Suttrop establishing hydrogen combustion, Figure 8. CFD analysis of micro mix injectors42 demonstrating safe combustion of the fuel with an effort to minimize NOx production. The objective of the investigations was to convert an A320 8 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

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APU GTCP 36-300 to function on Hydrogen safely . Miniaturized diffusive combustion was established to counteract the results of H2 combustion with large diffusive flames, which result in very high temperature zones. As thermal NOx is dependent on residence time, the amount of oxygen and nitrogen present and temperatures that increases emissions exponentially above 1800K. It is very important to avoid these conditions in combustor design. The micro mix combustor avoids this by the use of heterogeneous mixing, which generates numerous small diffusive flames. This is done by utilizing miniaturized diffusion by having a large number of fuel/air inlets, whilst taking the standard of 3-4% PD into consideration limiting the amount of fuel and air inlets. The improved mixing has taken advantage of turbulent formations and eddy breakdown reducing the local residence 43 times of the flame and avoiding stoichiometric conditions . A schematic of a micro mix combustor is shown in Figure 7. 37 Further investigations were performed by Dahl and Suttrop examining the performance of various 40 configurations of micro mix combustion. Dahl and Suttrop were able to show that further reductions of NOx are possible. This is accomplished with modifications to micro mix combustion. Other micro mix injectors have also 42, 44 been studied with various inlet geometries . Figure 8 displays the three different models of varrious micro mix 42 injectors studied by Murthy et al . Model 1 is a conventional micro mix combustor which has much lower NO x emissions than hydrogen combustion in conventional cans. Although it is clear from Figure 18 that high temperature hot spots are present in the flame profile. These high temperature zones are primariliy responsible for the thermal NOx productions. Further improvements of injectors have moved the H 2 injector locations along the main flow conduit as seen in model 2. Lower NOx emissions are present with this design, although critically the high temperature location is at the injector face. This will present a large potential risk. The high temperatures at the injector of model 2 will ineveitably lead to failure resulting in a large flammability risk. Utilising a frustum incoroprated into the design is present in model 3. The small hot spot is now present further down stream in the flame profile. This will enable a relible and durable ocombustor for further experimentation. The NOx emissions 42 from this design are substantially reduced 80% lower than model 1 used in the study . VIII. Safety

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Hydrogen has shown to be a very advantageous fuel for the future of aviation, enabling reduced emissions whilst providing exceptional performance. Concern associated with the hydrogen is its persistence to escape from enclosures. This is unwanted for obvious reasons as this is a primary loss of energy. Whilst the slow dissipation of hydrogen does not pose a large flammability risk when correctly ventilated. This is due to the fact that hydrogen is the lightest element, allowing it to be quickly dissipated as it rises into the atmosphere. This is very similar when fuel leaks occur. Investigations performed at the 45 University of Miami have compared a hydrogen fuel leak with a kerosene fuel leak. Both fuels are ignited after a certain period of time, enabling the fuel to spread. Whilst kerosene is a liquid that will pour and fill out as much space as possible, hydrogen is a gaseous fuel that will be localized to its leak, rising into the atmosphere in a controlled manor. Although a large hydrogen liquid leak will spread more than a gas leak, but it still will be the least hazardous Figure 9. Danger Zone of Spilled Liquid Gas46. when compared to other fuels as can be observed from Figure 9. Hydrogen is a much safer fuel than conventional fuels when provided with the effective systems. IX. Summary

Hydrogen is the most likely energy carrier for the future energy economy. Hydrogen provides a clean energy system that will supply energy for mobile applications. There are no issues of CO2 associated with hydrogen combustion and PEM fuel cells. This allows all other pollutants to be eliminated from backup generators and power production etc. Hydrogen combustion has emissions of only H 2O and NOx which must be considered. NOx 9 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

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has the most potential to cause damage to the environment, whilst water contrails can be reduced easily by decreasing altitude. Although with hydrogen as an energy carrier the fuel must be stored in a liquid cryogenic state to attain a reasonable energy density. This provides one of the largest challenges with the fuel. Further investigations are required to establish the most feasible materials and insulation that provide the ability to contain high pressures for ground and aero applications. As weight is a very important issue with aero applications the design of the aircraft and cryogenic storage of hydrogen must been established with the least amount of boil off for the minimal weight. The NOx emissions are a major factor and must be considered. The only way to reduce the NO x emissions with hydrogen combustion is to improve the local mixing intensity. This is dependent on combustor design and the equivalence ratio of the fuel. As seen in Figure 16 we can burn hydrogen at significantly leaner ratios. Although if we combust hydrogen at low equivalence ratios hot spots will still form in the flame profile if the mixing intensity is inadequate. The LDI and micro mix concepts of combusting hydrogen provide the best methods avoiding flashback, having the fuel and air feed to the chamber along separate paths and utilizing small but rapid mixing channels proving an effective solution. There are risks associated with hydrogen like any other fuel. Although as hydrogen is a gas it will react differently to liquid fuels. If a leak has ignited in an aircraft the flames will be localized to the leak and the flames will rise. This makes hydrogen a very safe gas removing the large fire risks associated with conventional fuels that will flow to the ground and consume the vehicle spreading in all directions. This gives the incentive to locate the fuel tanks above the passengers as to further protect them from fire. Propelling our future aircraft by hydrogen is a viable option considering various constraints. X. Conclusions

Three times more efficient than oil but four times bulkier even in its liquid state, hydrogen has already powered several prototype Cryoplanes around the world. Unlike normal aircraft, which use wings for storing fuel, hydrogen powered aircraft will be usually designed with the liquid hydrogen fuel carried inside the fuselage, in order to minimize surface-area and reduce boil-off which lead to design a radical bulky aircraft. But in a reputable consensus hydrogen seems to be the strongly viable option to address the long term solution to environmental concerns and energy dependency. Hydrogen is no stranger to aircraft it has successfully been used in flight test such as the Hes1 tests and Tupolev TU-155 tests. All flight tests performed were successful with no complications. Although it was established that hydrogen has a very high specific energy its energy density is quite low. This required cryogenic storage during flight tests, maintaining the fuel in a liquid state. It was recognized that to enable hydrogen use effectively in aviation, viable cryogenic storage is required to provide low weight, whilst concerning boil off and storage densities. Further studies with cryogenic storage are required to establish light structures that are safe, capable of withstanding high loads experience during take-off and landing. Hydrogen combustion only regards NOx and water vapor. Water vapor that escapes high into the atmosphere will contribute to global warming; its effect in aero applications can be eliminated by reducing the altitude of aircraft producing no contrails. NOx emissions on the other hand are a difficult pollutant to reduce. The primary properties of hydrogen enable fuels to be combusted stably at leaner equivalence ratios, reducing the residence times. Thus reduced emissions are acquirable with hydrogen combustion The two most viable methods of hydrogen combustion for gas turbines are LDI and micro mix methods. Both of these concepts establish improved local mixing intensities that enable lower equivalence ratios to combust absent of local hot spots that would otherwise form in the flame profile resulting in high NO x emissions. The two concepts have been tested and show effective methods of eliminating flashback risks associated with hydrogen's high flame speeds. Hence in principle it is possible to fly with hydrogen but for the moment producing enough hydrogen in an environmentally friendly manner for aviation is a challenge.

References
Airbus, Global market forecast 2007 - 2026, Airbus, 2007. Boeing, Current Market Outlook 2008 2027, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, 2008. 3 Rolls Royce, Market Outlook 2007 Forecast 2007 2026, Rolls Royce plc., 2007. 4 Boeing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes current Product Overview, County Regional Airport Authority Advisory Committee, San Diego, July 12, 2007.
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