Effect of hydrogen addition on exergetic performance of gas turbine engine

Abstract

Purpose The depletion of fossil fuel and emissions of harmful gases forced the pioneers in search of alternate energy source. The purpose of this study is to present an effective use of hydrogen fuel for turbojet engines based on its exergetic performance. Design/methodology/approach This study was performed to measure the assessment of exergetic data of turbojet engines. Initially, the test was carried out on the Jet A-1 fuel. Then, a series of similar tests were carried out on turbojet engines with hydrogen fuel to measure their performance results. Finally, the exergetic values of both were compared with each other. Findings The introduction of hydrogen fuel reduced the exergy efficiency, and a 10 per cent reduction was observed in exergy efficiency. Simultaneously, the waste exergy rate increased by 9 per cent. However, because of the high specific fuel exergy, hydrogen fuel was better than Jet A-1 fuel. Note that parameters such as environmental effect factor and ecological effect witnessed an increase in their index owing to the addition of hydrogen. Practical implications Introduction of alternative blends is necessary for achieving lower emission of gases such as CO, NOx and CO2 from gas turbine engines without compromising on performance. The Jet A fuels were replaced by blends to obtain better emission characteristics. Originality/value The use of hydrogen in turbojet engines showed an adverse effect on exergetic performance. However, it was very impressive to see a 200 per cent reduction in emissions. From the comparison of exergy efficiency results of inlet, combustion and nozzle, it is evident that the combustion chamber has the largest values of exergy ratio, waste exergy ratio, cost flow, ecological factor, environmental factor and fuel ratio owing to irreversibility in the combustion process.

An investigation of euro diesel-hydrogen dual-fuel combustion at different speeds in a small turbojet engine

“…Furthermore, the exergy efficiency reduces to 14.33% from 15.40% owing to the reducing exhaust gas mass with an assumption of constant exhaust gas velocity. Gunasekar et al (2019) obtain similar results in their exergetic performance comparison, using hydrogen and JetA-1 as fuel in a gas turbine engine generating 4.5 kN thrust at 87,000 rpm. Corchero and Montañés (2008) report that a 64.7% reduction in SFC occurs when hydrogen is used instead of kerosene in a simulation study of four different gas turbine engine types (BRR710-48, V2527A5, Trent 884 and PW120 turboprop).…”

Thermodynamic Performance and Creep Life Assessment Comparing Hydrogen- and Jet-Fueled Turbofan Aero Engine

“…The whole system exergy is dependent on the combustion zone where the highest destruction rate and least efficiency is obtained. In similar work by Gunasekar et al [31] using a turbojet, the exergy destruction at the component level, aside from the combustion, did not vary much between LH 2 and kerosene, hence the rationale to focus on the whole engine comparison influenced by the exergy of the combustion process. The exergy losses were neglected, based on adiabatic condition assumptions; hence, the exergy consumption rate is equal to the exergy destruction rate.…”

“…Exergy is another way to understand and compare the performance of LH 2 [28][29][30]. Gunasekar and Manigandan [31] utilized an exergy approach to assessing LH 2 and jet fuel performance, with their result showing that the introduction of LH 2 reduced exergy efficiency, due to the high specific exergy of hydrogen fuel compared to jet fuel.…”

“…In the system shown in Figure 4, the exergy entering the system is equal to the sum of exergy leaving, exergy destroyed and exergy losses. The exergy values in this paper were obtained using Equations ( 13)-( 18) [31,42,43,45,46]. The total specific exergy ( ) of the system is the sum of the physical, chemical, kinetic and potential exergies: The exergy assessment considered the following assumptions:…”

Influence of high oxygenated biofuels on micro-gas turbine engine for reduced emission

“…Spray characteristics and vaporization play a vital role in producing higher thrust. The quality of low density and viscosity of the ethanol makes the ethanol blends possible to enhance the static thrust compared to other blends (Gunasekar et al, 2019b;Devi et al, 2020). The lower density nature of ethanol leads to increase the fuel air mixture rate thus improving the heat release rate.…”