Topology optimization of hydrogen-powered aviation hybrid systems via thermal management principles

Hydrogen-powered aviation is becoming a promising and competitive aviation power selection for developing zero-emission aerial vehicles. The current options for hydrogen aviation power include hydrogen gas turbines, hydrogen fuel cells, and hydrogen hybrid power. Among them, hybrid power offers a greater competitive advantage as it possesses the advantages of both gas turbines and fuel cells and exhibits higher efficiency levels. Nonetheless, there is still a lack of research on thermal management strategies to improve hydrogen-powered hybrid system efficiency. In this paper, a method that integrates thermal management and topology optimization is proposed to realize the energy-efficient system topology design of the hydrogen-powered hybrid system. Initially, based on the existing topology of the hydrocarbon fuel hybrid system, the overall design of the thermal management architecture of the hydrogen fuel hybrid system is improved, and an integrated calculation method for coupling subsystems such as fuel cells, gas turbines, and component cooling is established. Afterward, a method for optimizing the topology is put forward to improve the flow of mass and energy among components in the hybrid system, and the topology with higher energy efficiency is determined through exergy analysis. Ultimately, through parametric analysis of the optimized hybrid system performance, it is obtained that when the fuel cell fuel utilization rate is 80 %, an energy conversion efficiency of 69 % can be achieved during the cruise phase.