Preliminary Design of Air and Thermal Management of a Nacelle-Integrated Fuel Cell System for an Electric Regional Aircraft

Abstract

The next generation of civil aircraft aims for low to zero emissions by 2050. Fuel cell-powered electric propulsion system can offer the required performance and low emission levels for regional flights. The challenge is to reduce weight and complexity, while achieving high reliability. This paper focuses on the preliminary design of the air and thermal management of a nacelle-integrated fuel cell system. These subsystems are necessary for the efficient and reliable operation of the fuel cell stacks and contain critical components like air intake, air duct and heat exchanger, which need to be designed and optimized to achieve compact and lightweight solutions. This paper shows design and assessment work on various preliminary concepts of large air ducts and heat exchangers, which are recognized as performance critical and large volume components. These components need to be tailored to the design space inside engine’s nacelle. Using parametric 3D modeling, several variations for compact heat exchangers are created and the sensitivity of key dimensions for aero-thermal performance properties is studied. Subsequently, CFD simulations are conducted and different design options are evaluated concerning pressure loss, drag, heat transfer and mass flow rate. Additional suitable components such as filter, compressor and pump are discussed and selected. Finally, two suitable design configurations for the air and thermal management of a nacelle-integrated fuel cell system are selected and evaluated.