Cryogenically assisted exhaust condensation
Aircraft engines include a burner section and a turbine section arranged along a shaft, wherein an exhaust from the burner section is directed through the turbine section to drive rotation of the turbine section and a core flow path passes through the burner section and then the turbine section. A condenser assembly is arranged downstream of the turbine section along the core flow path. A cryogenic fuel source is configured to supply fuel to the burner section along a fuel line passing through the condenser assembly and the fuel within the fuel line is configured to pick up heat from the exhaust from the burner section and condense water therefrom.
1. An aircraft engine, comprising:
a burner section and a turbine section arranged along a shaft, wherein an exhaust from the burner section is directed through the turbine section to drive rotation of the turbine section and a core flow path passes through the burner section and then the turbine section;
a condenser assembly arranged downstream of the turbine section along the core flow path; and
a cryogenic fuel source configured to supply fuel to the burner section along a fuel line,
wherein the fuel line passes through the condenser assembly and the fuel within the fuel line is configured to pick up heat from the exhaust from the burner section and condense water therefrom.
2. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , further comprising an evaporator configured to convert the condensed water from liquid water to steam.
3. The aircraft engine of claim 2 , wherein the steam is injected into the burner section.
4. The aircraft engine of claim 2 , wherein the steam is injected into the turbine section.
5. The aircraft engine of claim 2 , wherein the evaporator is arranged along the core flow path between the turbine section and the condenser assembly.
6. The aircraft engine of claim 2 , wherein the evaporator is a boiler arranged separate from the core flow path.
7. The aircraft engine of claim 6 , wherein the boiler is an electric boiler.
8. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , wherein the burner section is configured to combust hydrogen fuel therein.
9. The aircraft engine of claim 8 , wherein the cryogenic fuel source is a cryogenic fuel tank configured to supply hydrogen fuel to the burner section.
10. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , wherein the condensed water is stored in a water storage.
11. The aircraft engine of claim 10 , further comprising a water pump configured to pump water from the water storage to at least one of the burner section or the turbine section.
12. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , further comprising a fan and a bypass duct configured to direct bypass air past the burner section and the turbine section.
13. The aircraft engine of claim 12 , wherein the bypass air is directed through a portion of the condenser assembly to assist the condensing of water from the exhaust from the burner section.
14. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , wherein the condenser assembly comprises (i) a burner exhaust-to-air heat exchanger and (ii) a burner exhaust-to-fuel heat exchanger.
15. The aircraft engine of claim 14 , wherein the condenser assembly further comprises a water separator arranged downstream from the burner exhaust-to-air heat exchanger and the burner exhaust-to-fuel heat exchanger in a direction of the core flow path.
16. The aircraft engine of claim 14 , wherein the burner exhaust-to-air heat exchanger and the burner exhaust-to-fuel heat exchanger are separate heat exchangers.
17. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , wherein the condenser assembly comprises three cooling flow paths comprising: (i) a cooling air flow path, (ii) an oxygen fuel flow path, and (iii) a hydrogen fuel flow path.
18. The aircraft engine of claim 17 , wherein an exhaust from the burner section passes through the condenser assembly to sequentially thermally interact with the cooling air flow path, then the oxygen fuel flow path, and then the hydrogen fuel flow path to condense water from the exhaust of the burner section.
19. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , wherein the condenser is configured to extract up to 70% of the water content from an exhaust from the burner section.
20. The aircraft engine of claim 1 , further comprising a compressor section arranged along the core flow path upstream from the burner section and a fan section arranged along the core flow path upstream from the burner section and the compressor section.