US-12618372-B2 - Propulsion assembly for an aircraft

US12618372B2US 12618372 B2US12618372 B2US 12618372B2US-12618372-B2

Abstract

A propulsion assembly having a propulsion system comprising a fairing, a rotary assembly having a combustion chamber and housed in the fairing, an exhaust nozzle positioned downstream of the combustion chamber and delimited by a nozzle wall, and ensuring the discharge of the combustion gases originating from the combustion of the dihydrogen in the combustion chamber, a dihydrogen tank, a supply duct which connects the tank and the combustion chamber, and at least one vane positioned inside the exhaust nozzle, wherein the supply duct has a duct portion arranged in the vane.

Inventors

Nandakumar DEVASIGAMANI
Lionel Czapla
Jorge A. Carretero Benignos

Assignees

AIRBUS SAS
AIRBUS OPERATIONS SAS

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20241008
Priority Date: 20231012

Claims (12)

1 . A propulsion assembly for an aircraft, the propulsion assembly comprising: a propulsion system comprising a fairing, a rotary assembly having a combustion chamber and housed in the fairing, an exhaust nozzle positioned downstream of the combustion chamber and delimited by a rear portion of the fairing, referred to as a nozzle wall, and configured to ensure discharge of combustion gases originating from combustion of dihydrogen in the combustion chamber; a dihydrogen tank; a supply duct which connects the tank and the combustion chamber wherein the supply duct is a double-walled duct with an inner wall delimiting an inner volume in which the dihydrogen circulates and an outer wall delimiting an outer volume; at least one vane positioned inside the exhaust nozzle, wherein the supply duct has a duct portion arranged in the at least one vane, a heat exchanger, including a duct portion to transport the dihydrogen, arranged within the exhaust nozzle and configured to heat the dihydrogen prior to supplying the dihydrogen to the combustion chamber; and a leak detection means, being a pressure sensor arranged in the outer volume of the supply duct, connected to the heat exchanger and configured to, via a control unit, detect a leak in the heat exchanger, and a valve mounted on the supply duct arranged upstream of the heat exchanger and configured to, via the control unit, close when the leak detection means detects the leak in the heat exchanger.
2 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the outer volume contains a fluid.
3 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 2 , further comprising: a pump which is fluidically connected to the outer volume and is configured to set the fluid in the outer volume in motion.
4 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the outer volume is evacuated.
5 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one vane is equipped with fins.
6 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising: an outer ring secured to the nozzle wall; and an inner ring positioned inside of the outer ring, wherein the at least one vane is fixed between the outer ring and the inner ring.
7 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one vane is hollow and delimits a chamber in which is positioned at least a part of the duct portion of the heat exchanger, and wherein at least one upstream orifice, introduces the combustion gases into the chamber, and at least one downstream orifice; discharges the combustion gases from the chamber, are made in a wall of the vane.
8 . An aircraft comprising: at least one propulsion assembly according to claim 1 .
9 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor measures a pressure and is configured to detect, via the control unit, the leak of one or more of the inner wall or the outer wall.
10 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the leak detection means determines at least one of, via the control unit: the leak being at the inner wall when the pressure measured at the outer volume is substantially equal to a pressure of the dihydrogen in the inner volume; or the leak being at the outer wall when the pressure measured at the outer volume is substantially equal to a pressure of the atmosphere outside of the duct portion of the heat exchanger.
11 . A propulsion assembly for an aircraft, the propulsion assembly comprising: a propulsion system comprising a fairing, a rotary assembly having a combustion chamber and housed in the fairing, an exhaust nozzle positioned downstream of the combustion chamber and delimited by a rear portion of the fairing, referred to as a nozzle wall, and configured to ensure discharge of combustion gases originating from combustion of dihydrogen in the combustion chamber; a dihydrogen tank; at least one vane positioned inside the exhaust nozzle; an outer ring secured to the nozzle wall; an inner ring positioned on the inside of the outer ring and wherein the at least one vane is fixed between the outer ring and the inner ring; a supply duct which connects the tank and the combustion chamber, the supply duct including, at the fairing between the dihydrogen tank and the combustion chamber, an inner pipe and an outer pipe surrounding the inner pipe, the inner pipe and the outer pipe configured to circulate in the outer ring, the inner ring, and the at least one vane, wherein the supply duct is a double-walled duct with an inner wall of the inner pipe delimiting an inner volume in which dihydrogen circulates and an outer wall of the outer pipe delimiting an outer volume; a heat exchanger, arranged at the fairing encompassing the inner pipe and the outer pipe and configured to heat the dihydrogen prior to supplying the dihydrogen to the combustion chamber; and a leak detection means, being a pressure sensor arranged in the outer volume of the supply duct, connected to the heat exchanger and configured to, via a control unit, detect a leak in the heat exchanger; and a valve mounted on the supply duct arranged upstream of the heat exchanger and configured to, via the control unit, close when the leak detection means detects the leak in the heat exchanger.
12 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 11 , wherein the outer pipe and the inner pipe of the supply duct at the fairing further circulates along a longitudinal X-axis between a front part of the at least one vane and a rear part of the at least one vane.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of French Patent Application Number 2310977 filed on Oct. 12, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by way of reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a propulsion assembly for an aircraft, said propulsion assembly comprising a propulsion system having an exhaust nozzle that discharges the combustion gases from the propulsion system and a heat exchange system arranged at the exhaust nozzle for ensuring heat energy is transferred to the dihydrogen of the propulsion system, and to an aircraft having at least one such propulsion system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In order to move, an aircraft conventionally has at least one propulsion assembly comprising a propulsion system that is arranged in a nacelle and may take the form of a jet engine or a turboprop engine. In each case, the propulsion system has a rotary assembly that drives a fan or a propeller. The rotary assembly constitutes a core of the propulsion system and, from the front to the rear, it has an air inlet that allows the introduction of air into a duct of the core, a compressor that compresses the air thus introduced, a combustion chamber in which the air thus compressed is mixed with a fuel, and a turbine that allows the combustion gases to expand and generates the rotation that is transmitted to the fan or to the propeller. Downstream of the turbine, an exhaust nozzle ensures the discharge of the combustion gases. It is also known, in particular in the case of dihydrogen, that the efficiency of the combustion of a fuel is improved if this fuel is heated before said combustion. It is also known to use some of the hot combustion gases discharged by the exhaust nozzle to heat the fuel. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to propose another solution for heating the dihydrogen before its combustion. To that end, a propulsion assembly for an aircraft is proposed, having: a propulsion system comprising a fairing, a rotary assembly having a combustion chamber and housed in the fairing, an exhaust nozzle positioned downstream of the combustion chamber and delimited by a rear portion of the fairing, referred to as nozzle wall, and ensuring the discharge of the combustion gases originating from the combustion of the dihydrogen in the combustion chamber,a dihydrogen tank,a supply duct which connects the tank and the combustion chamber, andat least one vane positioned inside the exhaust nozzle, wherein the supply duct has a duct portion arranged in said vane. With such an arrangement, the heat energy of the combustion gases is transferred to the dihydrogen. Advantageously, the supply duct is a double-walled duct with an inner wall delimiting an inner volume in which the dihydrogen circulates and an outer wall delimiting an outer volume. According to one particular embodiment, the outer volume contains a fluid. Advantageously, the propulsion assembly has a pump which is fluidically connected to the outer volume and is arranged to set the fluid in the outer volume in motion. According to one particular embodiment, the outer volume is evacuated. Advantageously, said at least one vane is equipped with fins. Advantageously, the propulsion assembly has an outer ring secured to the nozzle wall and an inner ring positioned on the inside of the outer ring, and said at least one vane is fixed between the outer ring and the inner ring. Advantageously, said at least one vane is hollow and delimits a chamber in which is positioned at least a part of the duct portion, and at least one upstream orifice, arranged to allow the introduction of the hot combustion gases into the chamber, and at least one downstream orifice, arranged to allow the discharge of the hot combustion gases from the chamber, are made in the wall of the vane. The invention also proposes an aircraft having at least one propulsion assembly according to one of the above variants. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aforementioned features of the invention, along with others, will become more clearly apparent on reading the following description of one exemplary embodiment, said description being given with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of an aircraft having a propulsion assembly according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic representation, from the side and in section, of a propulsion assembly according to one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one particular embodiment of the invention, FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a section along the line V-V in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a schematic representation similar to that of FIG. 2 for another embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following description, terms relating to a position are considered in relation to an aircraft in a position of forward movement, i.e., as shown in FIG. 1, in