EP-4737327-A1 - HYDROGEN FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM

EP4737327A1EP 4737327 A1EP4737327 A1EP 4737327A1EP-4737327-A1

Abstract

A hydrogen fuel supply system is a hydrogen fuel supply system of an aircraft including an engine and includes: a fuel tank storing hydrogen fuel in a liquid phase; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the engine; a pressure pump that is located in the fuel supply passage and pressurizes the hydrogen fuel to critical pressure or more; and a sensor that is located downstream of the pressure pump in the fuel supply passage and measures pressure of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the pressure pump.

Inventors

KUSUMOTO, Yoshiaki
OSHIMA, Ryosuke
TOMONAGA, SATOSHI
TAGUCHI, HIDEYUKI

Assignees

KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240621

Claims (12)

A hydrogen fuel supply system of an aircraft including an engine, the hydrogen fuel supply system comprising: a fuel tank storing hydrogen fuel in a liquid phase; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the engine; a pressure pump that is located in the fuel supply passage and pressurizes the hydrogen fuel to critical pressure or more; and a sensor that is located downstream of the pressure pump in the fuel supply passage and measures pressure of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the pressure pump.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to claim 1, further comprising a heat exchanger that is located downstream of the pressure pump in the fuel supply passage and heats the hydrogen fuel to a critical temperature or more.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a control valve that is located downstream of the pressure pump in the fuel supply passage and controls a flow rate of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the pressure pump.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the sensor is located upstream of the heat exchanger in the fuel supply passage and measures the pressure and temperature of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the pressure pump.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the sensor is located downstream of the heat exchanger in the fuel supply passage and measures the pressure and temperature of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the heat exchanger.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sensor is located adjacent to the pressure pump.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sensor is located adjacent to at least one of the pressure pump or the heat exchanger.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the sensor is located adjacent to at least one of the pressure pump, the heat exchanger, or the control valve.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sensor further measures a flow rate of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the pressure pump.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising processing circuitry configured to control the pressure pump in accordance with a measurement signal regarding the pressure measured by the sensor.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to claim 9, further comprising processing circuitry configured to control an opening degree of the control valve in accordance with a measurement signal regarding the flow rate measured by the sensor.
The hydrogen fuel supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: the aircraft includes a fuselage, a main wing connected to the fuselage, and the engine connected to the main wing; the fuel tank is located in the fuselage or the main wing; the heat exchanger is located in the engine; the fuel supply passage includes a first region located in the fuselage or the main wing and upstream of the heat exchanger and a second region located in the engine and downstream of the heat exchanger; the first region is covered with a heat insulating material; and the second region is not covered with the heat insulating material.

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a hydrogen fuel supply system of an aircraft including an engine. Background Art PTL 1 discloses a hydrogen fuel supply system in an aircraft. In this system, liquid hydrogen in a fuel tank is pressurized by a pump and heated by a heat exchanger, and the liquid hydrogen in a gas phase or a supercritical phase is supplied to an engine. Citation List Patent Literature PTL 1: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0145801 Summary of Invention Technical Problem When hydrogen fuel changes from a liquid phase to a gas phase in a fuel supply passage during fuel supply, influences, such as a significant change in volume, occur. When the hydrogen fuel is in a supercritical phase, a phase change from the liquid phase to the gas phase can be avoided, and the hydrogen fuel can be stably supplied to the engine. When the hydrogen fuel is pressurized to critical pressure or more, and then heated to a critical temperature or more, the hydrogen fuel can be changed to the supercritical phase. When changing the hydrogen fuel to the supercritical phase by this method, first, the hydrogen fuel is required to be set to the critical pressure or more. An object of one aspect of the present disclosure is to stabilize the operation of an engine that uses hydrogen fuel in a supercritical phase. Solution to Problem A hydrogen fuel supply system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a hydrogen fuel supply system of an aircraft including an engine and includes: a fuel tank storing hydrogen fuel in a liquid phase; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the engine; a pressure pump that is located in the fuel supply passage and pressurizes the hydrogen fuel to critical pressure or more; and a sensor that is located downstream of the pressure pump in the fuel supply passage and measures pressure of the hydrogen fuel which has passed through the pressure pump. Advantageous Effects of Invention According to one aspect of the present disclosure, when the hydrogen fuel is pressurized by the pressure pump to the critical pressure or more, the sensor located downstream of the pressure pump can measure the pressure of the hydrogen fuel. Therefore, the operation of the pressure pump can be controlled in accordance with the pressure of the hydrogen fuel, and the operation of the engine that uses the hydrogen fuel in the supercritical phase can be stabilized. Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a plan view of an aircraft including a hydrogen fuel supply system according to Embodiment 1.FIG. 2 is a phase diagram showing the relationship of the phase of hydrogen to temperature and pressure.FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the hydrogen fuel supply system of FIG. 1.FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the hydrogen fuel supply system according to Embodiment 2. Description of Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present disclosure, an aircraft denotes a machine that can move in the air. Examples of the aircraft include fixed wing aircrafts, rotary wing aircrafts, and unmanned flying objects. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a plan view of an aircraft 1 including a hydrogen fuel supply system 10 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the aircraft 1 includes, for example, a fuselage 2, a pair of main wings 3, horizontal stabilizers 4, a vertical stabilizer 5, and gas turbine engines 6. The fuselage 2 extends in a front-rear direction of the aircraft 1 and defines an occupant space therein. The main wings 3 are connected to an intermediate portion of the fuselage 2 in the front-rear direction and project from the fuselage 2 in a left-right direction of the aircraft 1. The horizontal stabilizers 4 project from a rear portion of the fuselage 2 in the left-right direction of the aircraft 1. The vertical stabilizer 5 projects upward from the rear portion of the fuselage 2. The gas turbine engines 6 are connected to the respective main wings 3. The hydrogen fuel supply system 10 is mounted on the fuselage 2, the main wings 3, and the gas turbine engines 6. A fuel tank 21 is located in the fuselage 2 but may be located in the main wing 3. To be specific, a part of the fuel tank 21 or the entire fuel tank 21 is located in the fuselage 2 or the main wing 3. FIG. 2 is a phase diagram showing the relationship of the phase of hydrogen to temperature and pressure. As shown in FIG. 2, in the phase diagram of the hydrogen, a solid phase and a gas phase are separated by a sublimation line L1 as a boundary, the solid phase and a liquid phase are separated by a melting line L2 as a boundary, and the liquid phase and the gas phase are separated by a boiling line L3 as a boundary. An intersection R of the sublimation line L1, the melting line L2, and the boiling line L3 is referred to as a triple point. The hydrogen becomes a supercritical phase when the pressure of the hydrogen is higher than critical pressure Pc, and the temperature of the hydrogen