Conceptual Design of a Scaled Liquid Hydrogen Turbine-Powered Technology Demonstrator

Hydrogen-powered aircraft play a crucial role in advancing the low-carbon transformation of the global air transport industry in the future. However, the technologies for the integration and verification of liquid hydrogen energy power systems remain immature, accompanied by issues such as reliability and safety risks. To reduce the technical risks associated with full-scale airliners, there is an urgent need to conduct research on the design of verification prototypes. Taking the C909 regional airliner as a reference, this study constructs a scaled-down verification platform. Through the lightweight layout of the liquid hydrogen storage and supply system and the implementation of multi-compartment safety isolation measures, the rational integration of the liquid hydrogen turbofan energy power system is achieved. This research overcomes the integration challenges of the liquid hydrogen turbofan power system on the verification prototype platform, ensures the feasibility of liquid hydrogen storage, transportation, supply, and engine adaptation, and verifies the effectiveness of the scaled-down verification prototype in terms of aerodynamic characteristics, fuel system safety, and overall adaptability. The proposed integration scheme for the liquid hydrogen turbofan power system verification prototype provides a new approach to reducing the technical risks of full-scale hydrogen-powered aviation, and holds significant exploratory value for the development of future liquid hydrogen-powered verification prototypes and the engineering design of hydrogen-powered regional airliners.