Experimental investigation of waste heat recovery concept in turbine rear structure for a Liquid Hydrogen Gas-Turbine

Paper in proceeding, 2023

The increasing governmental restrictions over CO2 emissions have made aviation companies search for another source of fuel to help in this reduction challenge. Liquid Hydrogen is emerging again as a possible clean substitute for conventional aircraft fuel. One of the main challenges is the increase of inlet fuel temperature from cryogenic to a more typical condition, such operation could be done by utilizing the otherwise wasted exhaust heat. This work presents an aerothermal experimental investigation of the outlet guide vanes in the Turbine Rear Structure, for its use as heat exchangers. The experimentation was carried out in the LPT-OGV test facility at Chalmers Laboratory of Thermal Sciences where the convective heat transfer coefficient was evaluated on the surfaces of a new OGV concept with two split-angled coupled vanes using an infrared thermography technique. The results of this study provide valuable insights for further development of heat-management
systems in aviation, contributing towards sustainable and efficient aircraft propulsion.