Conceptual design and comprehensive study of a dual-mode engine integrated with hydrogen fuel cells and gas turbines for wide-body aircraft

This paper proposes a novel dual-fuel, dual-mode, dual-thermodynamic cycle aviation propulsion system for the first time, and conducts theoretical research on it based on a moderately simplified mathematical model. It is specifically designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions for wide-body aircraft. A comprehensive thermodynamic model is developed for this hybrid power system, which integrates a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a dual-rotor turbofan engine. The matching characteristics between aircraft and engine performance are analyzed by systematically varying the fuselage length of the dual-fuel aircraft configuration. Results show that the specific fuel consumption of the proposed engine is decreased by 12.6% compared with that of the traditional turbofan engine as the Mach number increases. Conversely, as the relative physical rotational speed decreases, the thrust of the novel engine is increased by 10%. With a 20 % extension in fuselage length, the dual-fuel aircraft, operating on 100 % hydrogen fuel, can achieve an endurance exceeding 17 h, representing a 20 % endurance improvement over conventional aviation kerosene-powered aircraft. In this case, the aircraft weight can be reduced by 96.79 tons, and CO₂ emissions can be decreased by 301.65 tons.