Characterization of a Meredith Duct as a Thermal Management System for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft

The aerospace industry's growing need to reduce harmful gas emissions has led to the design and conception of aircraft that increasingly make use of new generation's components for power generation and on-board systems management. The main technologies that meet these needs are systems that generate electricity using hydrogen as a means of powering fuel cells, the actual power generation components. Considering all these design constraints, the following thesis aims to carry out a fluid-dynamic analysis of the implications of the cooling of these components related to electric power generation. To pursue this goal, a new generation of compact heat exchanger have been used to allow for proper heat dissipation. To avoide some harmful effects from an aerodynamic point of view, a nacelle was built around the heat exchanger to dampen the aerodynamic drag effects and ensure adequate dissipation of the high temperatures generated on board. While pursuing these two important goals, the possible emergence of a beneficial aerodynamic effect (Meredith Effect) that could allow the generation of positive thrust was investigated. The global aim of this thesis job is then the development and testing - starting from some previous analytical data - with a CFD simulation, of a duct built on a regional transport aircraft, that could manage a requested heat load (generated by the engine's electric side) and dissipate it in a proper way while trying to get a positive thrust to unload the engine's thermal side and pursue the green constraints imposed by recent laws.