PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF EVOLUTIONARY HYDROGEN-POWERED AIRCRAFT

This study explores the potential performance characteristics, fuel-related costs and emissions, and replaceable fossil fuel market of LH2-powered aircraft entering service in 2035. In keeping with aviation's conservative approach to new aircraft design, only evolutionary advances in design parameters that are feasible by 2035 are considered. Two LH2 combustion designs are assessed: a smaller turboprop aircraft targeting the regional market, and a narrow-body turbofan aircraft suitable for short and medium-haul flights. These designs are benchmarked against the ATR 72 and the Airbus A320neo, respectively. Both designs will require an elongated fuselage to accommodate LH2 storage behind the passenger cabin. Gravimetric indices (GI), which denote the ratio of the fuel mass to the mass of the full fuel system including the cryogenic tank, of between 0.2 and 0.35 are investigated. Seating pitch (SP) values of 29 and 30 inches, mimicking the seating density of low-cost and regular airliners, are used. The potential market coverage of LH2­-powered aircraft families, which include variants of the baseline design with different range and passenger capacities, are analyzed as well.

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Performance analysis of evolutionary hydrogen-powered aircraft - International Council on Clean Transportation (theicct.org)