US-12618373-B2 - Propulsion assembly for an aircraft

US12618373B2US 12618373 B2US12618373 B2US 12618373B2US-12618373-B2

Abstract

A propulsion assembly having a fairing, a combustion chamber housed in the fairing, an exhaust nozzle delimited by a nozzle wall, a dihydrogen tank, a double-walled supply duct between the tank and the combustion chamber that has an inner wall delimiting an inner volume for the circulation of the dihydrogen and, around it, an outer wall delimiting an outer volume, and a bypass chamber, which is positioned around the nozzle wall and in which is made an upstream orifice for the introduction of the combustion gases and a downstream orifice for the discharge of the combustion gases, and wherein the supply duct has a portion arranged in the bypass chamber.

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 (15)

1 . A propulsion assembly for an aircraft, having: a nacelle; a propulsion system arranged inside the nacelle and 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 a 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 and is a double-walled duct with an inner wall delimiting an inner volume in which the dihydrogen circulates and, around the inner volume, an outer wall delimiting an outer volume; a bypass chamber positioned around the nozzle wall; a heat exchanger, including a duct portion to transport the dihydrogen, arranged within the bypass chamber and configured to heat the dihydrogen prior to supplying the dihydrogen to the combustion chamber; 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, wherein at least one upstream orifice introduces the combustion gases into the bypass chamber, and at least one downstream orifice discharges the combustion gases from the bypass chamber, are made in the nozzle wall, and wherein the supply duct has a duct portion arranged in the bypass chamber.
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 fluidically connected to the outer volume and arranged to set the fluid in the outer volume in motion.
4 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the outer volume is evacuated.
5 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the outer wall is equipped with fins.
6 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the duct portion surrounds the nozzle wall.
7 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the duct portion extends around the nozzle wall over an angular portion.
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, having: a nacelle; a propulsion system arranged inside the nacelle and 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, the nozzle wall having a portion configured as an aerodynamic profile having a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion, and configured to ensure a 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 and is a double-walled duct with an inner wall delimiting an inner volume in which the dihydrogen circulates and, around the inner volume, an outer wall delimiting an outer volume; a bypass chamber positioned around the nozzle wall; a heat exchanger, including a duct portion to transport the dihydrogen, arranged within the bypass chamber and configured to heat the dihydrogen prior to supplying the dihydrogen to the combustion chamber; 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 the 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 a leak in the heat exchanger, wherein at least one upstream orifice, introduces the combustion gases into the bypass chamber, and at least one downstream orifice, discharges the combustion gases from the bypass chamber, are made in the nozzle wall, the upstream orifice being at the leading edge portion of the nozzle wall and the downstream orifice being at the trailing edge portion of the nozzle wall, and wherein the supply duct has a duct portion arranged in said bypass chamber.
12 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 11 , wherein the leading edge portion is spaced from the nozzle wall towards the exhaust nozzle a distance to allow the combustion gases to pass into the bypass chamber.
13 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 11 , further including a cowling fixed to the nozzle wall, the cowling surrounding the bypass chamber and overlapping the nozzle wall.
14 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the cowling has an angle α with respect to the nozzle wall at which the cowling overlaps the nozzle wall at an upstream portion at the upstream orifice between and including 10°-15°.
15 . The propulsion assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the cowling has an angle β with respect to the nozzle wall at which the cowling overlaps the nozzle wall at a downstream portion at the downstream orifice between and including 30°-40°.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of French Patent Application Number 2310970 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 in complete safety. To that end, a propulsion assembly for an aircraft is proposed, having: a nacelle,a propulsion system arranged inside the nacelle and 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 and is a double-walled duct with an inner wall delimiting an inner volume in which the dihydrogen circulates and, around it, an outer wall delimiting an outer volume, anda bypass chamber positioned around the nozzle wall, wherein at least one upstream orifice, arranged to allow the introduction of the hot combustion gases into the bypass chamber, and at least one downstream orifice, arranged to allow the discharge of the hot combustion gases from the deflection chamber, are made in the nozzle wall, and wherein the supply duct has a duct portion arranged in said chamber. With such an arrangement, the heat energy of the combustion gases is transferred to the dihydrogen and the installation of a double-walled duct makes it possible to ensure a high level of safety, even in the event of a leak. 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, the outer wall is equipped with fins. According to one particular embodiment, the duct portion surrounds the nozzle wall. According to one particular embodiment, the duct portion extends around the nozzle wall over an angular portion. 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 the invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the detail III in FIG. 2. 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, which is to say as shown in FIG. 1, in which the arrow F shows the direction of forward movement of the aircraft. FIG. 1 shows an aircraft 100 that has a fuselage 102 on each side of which a wing 104 is fixed. At least one pr