Global Sensitivity Analysis of Liquid Hydrogen Storage Design Parameters for Overall Aircraft Design

Abstract

Hydrogen-powered aircraft have emerged as a promising solution to reduce aviation’s climate impact. However, there are significant uncertainties in the current research landscape, particularly in the development of aviation specific liquid hydrogen technologies and their successful integration into aircraft systems. The performance assessment of these technologies relies heavily on assumptions about hydrogen storage and aircraft systems. To systematically address these assumptions and underlying uncertainties during the early design phase, this study employs a global sensitivity analysis for a hydrogen-powered short-range turboprop concept. Within the global sensitivity framework, design assumptions related to liquid hydrogen storage and integration are treated as independent input variables. Recognizing the complex nature of aircraft design, the study incorporates the interdependencies between the overall aircraft design and liquid hydrogen storage through an integrated process that includes aircraft and hydrogen subsystem sizing. Consequently, this approach allows for the identification of key factors influencing the liquid hydrogen system design and provides insight into their impact on critical aircraft performance metrics.