PRIN 2022 CALL. DECREE NO. 104 OF 2 FEBRUARY 2022

TITOLO DEL PROGETTO: Development of new fuel systems for future clean airliners fuelled with Hydrogen (DNFSFCAFH)

MUR CODE: 20229MWABH
CUP CODE: D53D23003260006
Budget: € 100.309
P.I.: Prof. Elia Distaso - Polytechnic University of Bari
OTHER RESEARCH UNITS OR ANY SUB-UNITS
• UR2 - University of Sannio, Benevento
• UR3 - University of Naples Federico II

Brief project description
The DNFSFCAFH project addresses one of the main technological challenges for the decarbonization of air transport: the definition of the architecture and the preliminary design of fuel supply systems for future intra-continental aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen (LH2).
The activities covered the entire fuel system design chain: state-of-the-art analysis, definition and simulation of innovative architectures through numerical models, optimization of configurations, preliminary design of cryogenic tanks, heat exchangers, pumps, piping and safety systems, development of solutions for flow regulation through metering valves, and design of auxiliary storage, venting and ventilation systems.

Purpose
Liquid hydrogen has high potential to reduce emissions in the aeronautics sector: for the same energy content, it requires a significantly lower fuel mass than conventional fuels and, if produced from renewable sources, enables combustion without direct CO2 emissions and with negligible particulate emissions. However, its use requires a complete redesign of the onboard fuel system, since hydrogen must be stored under cryogenic conditions, vaporized, superheated, metered and injected into the combustion chamber under controlled conditions.
The overall aim of the project is to contribute to the development of technological solutions for hydrogen-powered aircraft, in line with European emission-reduction objectives and with the research trajectories of Clean Aviation and Flightpath 2050. In particular, the project aims to provide a scientific and design basis for reliable, efficient liquid-hydrogen fuel systems that can be integrated into future commercial aircraft.

Expected results
•    Updated and systematic overview of the state of the art on LH2 fuel systems for aircraft;
•    Definition of one or more technically feasible architectures for the LH2 fuel system, including storage, supply, heat exchange, metering and safety;
•    Development of numerical models in the Simulink/Simscape and Amesim environments, useful for simulating system behavior under different operating conditions;
•    Optimization of system configurations and main components, with identification of an optimized configuration as a design milestone;
•    Preliminary design of critical components, including cryogenic tanks, heat exchangers, pumps, piping, safety systems, metering valves and auxiliary storage and venting systems;
•    Production of technical deliverables and indexed scientific publications, with a minimum target of three Scopus publications.

Achieved results 
The project was successfully completed within the planned timeframe. All seven Work Packages were carried out and the scientific and technological objectives were achieved. The activities produced an organic knowledge base on the four macro-areas of liquid-hydrogen aircraft fuel system design: storage, distribution, thermal management and metering.

The main results include:

• Completion of a comprehensive literature review on LH2 fuel systems for aircraft, with analysis of storage, delivery, thermal management, metering and safety systems;

• Proposal and modelling of an innovative LH2 fuel system architecture, validated through numerical models and comparison between simulation environments;

• Development of parametric Simulink/Simscape and Amesim models and application of a MOGA-II optimization procedure to identify optimized configurations;

• Preliminary design of the main LH2 components, including heat exchangers, cryogenic tanks, pumps, piping, and safety systems;

• Development and simulation of a new dosing valve solution for gaseous hydrogen based on piezoelectric actuation;

• Definition and simulation of intermediate storage, discharge, and venting systems;

• Publication of six Scopus-indexed scientific papers, exceeding the minimum target of three publications;

• Strengthening of national and international scientific collaborations, including with the University of Bath and Moog Controls Ltd, with positive effects on the project’s visibility within the international hydrogen aviation research community.

The activities were carried out in compliance with the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle and Open Access principles. The nature of the activities was predominantly computational and numerical, with no physical experimentation or significant direct environmental impacts. The publications were made available through publishing venues or conference proceedings with open access options.