Research Progress on Response Regulation of Components in Hydrogen Transport and Thermal Management Systems of AeroEngines

Compared to conventional fuels, hydrogen fuel offers advantages such as high specific heat capacity, low boiling point, and zero carbon emissions, demonstrating significant potential for green energy conservation and sustainable development in the aviation field. This paper reviewed the latest advances, technical challenges, research hotspots, and future development directions related to the response and regulation of various components within the hydrogen transportation and thermal management systems for aeroengines, filling a gap in the existing literature. (1) As to the fuel of aeroengines, the heat exchanger efficiency of the heat exchanger employed for intercooling while utilizing hydrogen fuel can reach 10.63 times that of kerosene, and the turbine inlet temperature is significantly reduced under sea-level takeoff conditions. Under high-altitude supersonic flight conditions, its specific fuel consumption is approximately 0.33–0.40 times that of kerosene. However, aeroengines also confront challenges such as the requirement for high-efficiency thermal insulation and the control of cold energy losses. (2) When the pressure regulation accuracy of hydrogen storage containers, hydrogen supply stability, and thermal management coordination are ensured, the fuel weight index can be optimized to 0.62 during hydrogen transportation, significantly reducing the impact of the hydrogen storage system on the payload capacity of aircraft models. Nevertheless, crucial components involved in hydrogen transportation, such as cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks, are vulnerable to significant temperature fluctuations, which can cause pressure oscillations, response delays, and seal failures, thereby affecting the stability of the hydrogen fuel supply. (3) In the thermal management system of hydrogen-fueled aeroengines, the fuel consumption and transportation cost of the engine compared with the unoptimized baseline system are reduced by 14.54% and 11.74% through regulating important component parameters such as heat exchanger power. However, the thermal management system confronts challenges during the heat exchange among hydrogen fuel, high-temperature airflow, and residual heat, including strong coupling among multiple components and insufficient real-time sensing capability for dynamic thermal loads. Future development should shift from “passive adaptation” to “active regulation and control,” aiming to achieve dynamic decoupling of temperature, pressure, and stress fields under strongly coupled multi-heat source operating conditions, along with coordinated regulation and matching of multi-component dynamic responses.