Analysis of LH2 propellant system for civil hypersonic aircraft

This thesis aims to highlight the benefits and drawbacks of the adoption of liquid hydrogen in hypersonic vehicle concepts. A brief overview of the technological challenges and solutions, environmental and economic aspects, is performed, including considerations on the aircraft and airport design, safety and handling. The analysis identifies and discusses multidisciplinary issues related to the development of a liquid hydrogen system that allows adequate levels of integration on the aircraft and a full infrastructure to support it. It also includes the means for delivery and storage as well as requirements, regulations and standards. Key factors that play an important role in pointing out the potential of liquid hydrogen and its impact on aviation are emphasized. A simplified tank design approach is subsequently introduced to support the design of LH2 cryogenic tanks, with appropriate mechanical, geometrical and thermal characteristics. A useful algorithm has been applied to a hypersonic aircraft configuration to evaluate volumes and weights. In parallel, an ad-hoc created model has been developed in Matlab-Simulink environment, aimed to facilitating the calculation process for the estimation of mass and fuel consumed during the mission and CoG preliminary displacements, simplifying the design phases.