Fuel delivery system for delivering hydrogen fuel to a fuel injection system in a complex cycle gas turbine engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12006871-B2
Application number	US-202117476311-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 15, 2021
Priority date	Sep 30, 2020
Publication date	Jun 11, 2024
Grant date	Jun 11, 2024

Abstract

A complex cycle gas turbine engine for an aircraft with hydrogen fuel supply. The gas turbine engine comprises, in fluid flow series, a core gas turbine and a recuperator for heating hydrogen fuel prior to combustion by turbine exhaust products.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A complex cycle gas turbine engine for an aircraft with hydrogen fuel supply, comprising:
in fluid flow series, a core gas turbine and a recuperator for heating hydrogen fuel prior to combustion by turbine exhaust products; and
a fuel delivery system for delivering the hydrogen fuel from a cryogenic storage system to the recuperator, the fuel delivery system including a pump, a metering device, and a fuel heating system for heating the hydrogen fuel,
wherein the metering device comprises a sonic fixed orifice configured to operate in a choked condition and a flow rate is controlled by adjusting pressure delivered by the pump upstream of the sonic fixed orifice based on a measured upstream temperature of the sonic fixed orifice and an area of the sonic fixed orifice,
the fuel heating system comprises a vaporiser configured to vaporise liquid hydrogen from the cryogenic storage system, and
the vaporiser comprises a fuel offtake for diverting a portion of the hydrogen fuel from a fuel conduit for combustion in a burner located in heat exchange relationship with the fuel conduit.

2. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , in which the core gas turbine engine comprises:
a low-pressure spool having a low-pressure compressor driven by a low-pressure turbine;
a high-pressure spool having a high-pressure compressor driven by a low high-pressure turbine.

3. The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , further comprising a fan driven by the low-pressure spool, optionally via a reduction gearbox.

4. The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , in which the core gas turbine comprises a combustor between the high-pressure compressor and the high-pressure turbine, the combustor having a liner cooled in a regenerative configuration by the hydrogen fuel.

5. The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , further comprising a reheat combustor stationed between the high-pressure turbine and the low-pressure turbine.

6. The gas turbine engine claim 1 , further comprising a fuel turbine for receiving heated hydrogen fuel from the spiral-wound recuperator to drive a load.

7. The gas turbine engine of claim 6 , in which the load is:
an electrical generator;
a fuel pump for pumping the hydrogen fuel;
a low-pressure spool or a high-pressure spool in the core gas turbine.

8. The gas turbine engine claim 2 , further comprising an intercooler between the low-pressure compressor and the high-pressure compressor for cooling low-pressure compressor discharge air by the hydrogen fuel.

9. The gas turbine engine of claim 8 , further comprising a second recuperator for further heating hydrogen fuel received from the intercooler.

10. The gas turbine engine of claim 9 , in which the second recuperator is stationed downstream of the recuperator.

11. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , further comprising a reheat combustor.

12. The gas turbine engine of claim 11 , in which the core gas turbine engine comprises a multi-stage turbine and the reheat combustor is stationed between two of the stages on the turbine.

13. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , in which the vaporiser comprises a boil volume or an electric heating element for initial heating of liquid hydrogen if no vaporised hydrogen fuel is available.

14. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , in which the flow rate is further controlled by varying the pressure ratio across the orifice.

15. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , in which the fuel heating system comprises one or more heat exchangers for heating the hydrogen fuel by heat from the core gas turbine.

16. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , in which one or more heat exchangers are oil-fuel heat exchangers for cooling engine oil or gearbox oil by the hydrogen fuel.

17. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the sonic fixed orifice comprises an exit with no expansion.

18. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of upstream to downstream pressures of the sonic fixed orifice is at least the critical pressure ratio of hydrogen.

19. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the recuperator is a spiral-wound recuperator.

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Plc

Inventors

• Palmer Chloe J
• Whurr John R

Classifications

• F23C2900/9901

  Combustion process using hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide water or brown gas as fuel · CPC title

• F23D14/32

  using a mixture of gaseous fuel and pure oxygen or oxygen-enriched air (F23D14/38 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02C3/20

  using a special fuel, oxidant, or dilution fluid to generate the combustion products · CPC title

• F02C7/14

  of fluids in the plant {, e.g. lubricant or fuel (F02C7/185 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• F23R3/04

  Air inlet arrangements · CPC title