An Analysis of Civil Aviation Industry Safety Needs for the Introduction of Liquid Hydrogen Propulsion Technology

Benson, C.M.; Ingram, J.M.; Battersby, P.; Sethi, Vishal; Rolt, Andrew

doi:10.1115/gt2019-90453

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…All of these studies have concluded that the safety of the aviation industry should not be adversely affected by hydrogen fuel introduction, if the relevant standards and technology are developed. Benson et al (2019) [14] carried out an extensive PHA process for liquid hydrogen propulsion systems, highlighting a significant number of hazards, and more importantly the gaps that are still acting as barriers to this technology introduction, from both fundamental science and engineering technology development perspectives. 1 summarizes the hazards identified in that work related directly to liquid hydrogen.…”

Section: Liquid Hydrogen Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Hazard Analyses to Explore the Impact of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel on the Civil Aviation Industry

Benson¹,

Holborn²,

Ingram³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Interest in green technology in aviation is increasing. To address environmental issues, novel fuels such as cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) are being explored, however there are safety concerns. This work combines safety studies to explore LH2 fuel safety for civil aviation. Preliminary hazard analyses (PHAs) (utilizing over 70 standards and guides) have been performed identifying possible LH2 hazards on-board aircraft. A PHA has also been produced, with industry stakeholder involvement, to understand the major concerns for LH2 use at airports.Gaps in fundamental knowledge and LH2 technology have been identified, and two of these explored. Firstly, work has been started to understand the fundamental flammability of hydrogen in altitude conditions. Secondly, FLACS CFD modelling has been used to simulate large-scale LH2 pool releases to examine behavior and predict pool size, downwind flammable regions, and flammable mass clouds formed for different environmental conditions and release scenarios. This has identified significant effects of wind speed on buoyancy and flammable cloud travel which must be taken into account of any hydrogen fuel facility design.This work (part of the EC funded ENABLEH2 project) is some of the first in over a decade to re-examine the safety of hydrogen propulsion in aircraft. This process has identified wide-ranging issues that must be addressed before hydrogen propulsion can be introduced in civil aviation.

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Section: Liquid Hydrogen Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Hazard Analyses to Explore the Impact of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel on the Civil Aviation Industry

Benson¹,

Holborn²,

Ingram³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Safety considerations affect not only the design of aircraft fuel systems and the LH2 storage tanks, but also the supporting airport infrastructure and fuelling operations. An analysis of the safety needs was made at the start of the ENABLEH2 project [14].…”

Section: Safe Lh2 Fuel System and Tank Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryogenic Fuel Storage Modelling and Optimisation for Aircraft Applications

Rompokos

Rolt

Nalianda

et al. 2021

Volume 6: Ceramics and Ceramic Composites; Coal, Biomass, Hydrogen, and Alternative Fuels; Microturbines, Turbochargers, and Sm

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Designing commercial aircraft to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) is one way to substantially reduce their life-cycle CO2 emissions. The merits of hydrogen as an aviation fuel have long been recognized, however, the handling of a cryogenic fuel adds complexity to aircraft and engine systems, operations, maintenance and storage. The fuel tanks could account for 8–10% of an aircraft’s operating empty weight, so designing them for the least added weight is of high significance. This paper describes the heat transfer model developed in the EU Horizon 2020 project that is used to predict heat ingress to a cylindrical tank with hemispherical end caps with external foam insulation. It accounts for heat transfer according to the state of the tank contents, the insulation material properties, the environment, and the dimensions of the tank. The model also estimates the rate of pressure change according to the state of the fuel and the rate at which fuel is withdrawn from the tank. In addition, a methodology is presented, that allows for tank sizing taking into consideration the requirements of a design flight mission, the maximum pressure developed, and the fuel evaporated. Finally, the study demonstrates how to select optimal insulation material and thickness to provide the lightest design for the cases where no gaseous hydrogen is extracted, and where some hydrogen gas is extracted during cruise, the latter giving gravimetric efficiencies as high as 74%.

show abstract

“…All of these studies have concluded that the safety of the aviation industry should not be adversely affected by hydrogen fuel introduction, if the relevant standards and technology are developed. Benson et al (2019) [14] carried out an extensive PHA process for liquid hydrogen propulsion systems, highlighting a significant number of hazards, and more importantly the gaps that are still acting as barriers to this technology introduction, from both fundamental science and engineering technology development perspectives. Table 1 summarizes the hazards identified in that work related directly to liquid hydrogen.…”

Section: Liquid Hydrogen Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Hazard Analyses to Explore the Impact of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel on the Civil Aviation Industry

Benson

Holborn

Rolt

et al. 2020

Volume 3: Ceramics; Coal, Biomass, Hydrogen, and Alternative Fuels

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Interest in green technology in aviation is increasing. To address environmental issues, novel fuels such as cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) are being explored, however there are safety concerns. This work combines safety studies to explore LH2 fuel safety for civil aviation. Preliminary hazard analyses (PHAs) (utilizing over 70 standards and guides) have been performed identifying possible LH2 hazards on-board aircraft. A PHA has also been produced, with industry stakeholder involvement, to understand the major concerns for LH2 use at airports. Gaps in fundamental knowledge and LH2 technology have been identified, and two of these explored. Firstly, work has been started to understand the fundamental flammability of hydrogen in altitude conditions. Secondly, FLACS CFD modelling has been used to simulate large-scale LH2 pool releases to examine behavior and predict pool size, downwind flammable regions, and flammable mass clouds formed for different environmental conditions and release scenarios. This has identified significant effects of wind speed on buoyancy and flammable cloud travel which must be taken into account of any hydrogen fuel facility design. This work (part of the EC funded ENABLEH2 project) is some of the first in over a decade to re-examine the safety of hydrogen propulsion in aircraft. This process has identified wide-ranging issues that must be addressed before hydrogen propulsion can be introduced in civil aviation.

show abstract

An Analysis of Civil Aviation Industry Safety Needs for the Introduction of Liquid Hydrogen Propulsion Technology

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Combined Hazard Analyses to Explore the Impact of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel on the Civil Aviation Industry

Combined Hazard Analyses to Explore the Impact of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel on the Civil Aviation Industry

Cryogenic Fuel Storage Modelling and Optimisation for Aircraft Applications

Combined Hazard Analyses to Explore the Impact of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel on the Civil Aviation Industry

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