Engine for propelling an aircraft and aircraft having at least one engine and at least one hydrogen tank

Abstract

An engine for propelling an aircraft includes an annular fuel cell arrangement having at least one fuel cell, at least one electric motor couplable to the fuel cell arrangement, at least one fan couplable to the electric motor and a cowling having an inlet and an outlet nozzle. The fuel cell arrangement is arranged inside the cowling, the at least one fan is arranged between the inlet and the fuel cell arrangement inside the cowling, the electric motor is operable under consumption of electric power delivered by the fuel cell arrangement and the at least one fan is designed to produce a thrust force by creating an accelerated airflow at the outlet nozzle. The engine is extremely efficient and comprises a distinct low noise.

Claims

1. An engine for propelling an aircraft, comprising: a fuel cell arrangement having at least one fuel cell unit; at least one electric motor couplable to the fuel cell arrangement; at least one first fan couplable to the at least one electric motor; and an outermost cowling having an inlet and an outlet nozzle, wherein the fuel cell arrangement is positioned at an inner surface of the outermost cowling, said inner surface of the outermost cowling defining a flow duct of the at least one first fan, said fuel cell arrangement configured to receive a portion of an airflow generated by the at least one first fan in said flow duct, wherein the at least one first fan is arranged between the inlet and the fuel cell arrangement inside the outermost cowling, wherein the at least one electric motor is operable under consumption of electric power delivered by the fuel cell arrangement, and wherein the at least one first fan is configured to produce a thrust force by creating an accelerated airflow at the outlet nozzle.

2. The engine of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell arrangement comprises a plurality of fuel cell units arranged annularly within the outermost cowling.

3. The engine of claim 2, wherein the at least one electric motor comprises a plurality of coils fixedly arranged inside the outermost cowling and a plurality of magnets mechanically coupled with the at least one first fan.

4. The engine of claim 3, wherein each coil of the plurality of coils is coupled with at least one electrical inverter, wherein the at least one electrical inverter is coupled with the fuel cell arrangement and is controllable by a control unit.

5. The engine of claim 4, wherein the at least one electrical inverter is arranged in an annular arrangement between the inlet and the fuel cell arrangement.

6. The engine of claim 4, wherein the fuel cell arrangement comprises the plurality of fuel cell units being arranged annularly within the outermost cowling, and wherein each fuel cell unit of the plurality of fuel cell units is coupled with the at least one electrical inverter.

7. The engine of claim 6, wherein each fuel cell unit of the plurality of fuel cell units is mechanically and electrically coupled with the at least one electrical inverter without using an electric cable.

8. The engine of claim 3, further comprising a magnetic bearing between the at least one first fan and the outermost cowling for rotatably supporting the at least one first fan, and wherein the plurality of coils and the plurality of magnets provide the magnetic bearing.

9. The engine of claim 1, further comprising a magnetic bearing between the at least one first fan and the outermost cowling for rotatably supporting the at least one first fan.

10. The engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one fuel cell is one of a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell and a closed cathode PEM fuel cell.

11. The engine of claim 1, further comprising an exhaust gas recirculation outlet and a recirculation line, wherein the recirculation line is connected with a fuel cell exhaust gas outlet and with the recirculation outlet, and wherein the exhaust gas recirculation outlet is arranged upstream of the fuel cell arrangement.

12. The engine of claim 1, further comprising a second fan, and a second electric motor, wherein the at least one first and second fans are arranged one behind another in an axial direction and wherein the at least one electric motor and the second electric motor are adapted for counter-rotating the at least first and second fans.

13. The engine of claim 1, wherein the at least first fan is centerless.

14. The engine of claim 1, further comprising a combustion engine.

15. The engine of claim 1, wherein the outermost cowling encloses all active components of the at least one engine.

16. An aircraft, comprising at least one engine and at least one hydrogen tank for supplying the at least one engine with hydrogen, the at least one engine comprising: a fuel cell arrangement having at least one fuel cell unit; at least one electric motor couplable to the fuel cell arrangement; at least one first fan couplable to the at least one electric motor; and an outermost cowling having an inlet and an outlet nozzle, wherein the fuel cell arrangement is positioned at an inner surface of the outermost cowling, said inner surface defining a flow duct of the at least one first fan, said fuel cell arrangement configured to receive a portion of an airflow generated by the at least one first fan in said flow duct, wherein the at least one first fan is arranged between the inlet and the fuel cell arrangement inside the outermost cowling, wherein the at least one electric motor is operable under consumption of electric power delivered by the fuel cell arrangement, and wherein the at least one first fan is configured to produce a thrust force by creating an accelerated airflow at the outlet nozzle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further characteristics, advantages and application options of the present invention are disclosed in the following description of the exemplary embodiments in the figures. All the described and/or illustrated characteristics per se and in any combination form the subject of the invention, even irrespective of their composition in the individual claims or their interrelationships. Furthermore, identical or similar components in the figures have the same reference characters.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of an engine with a single fan in a sectional view.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of an engine with two fans in a sectional view.

(4) FIG. 3a shows a third exemplary embodiment of an engine with two fans and compressor rings in a sectional view, while FIG. 3b shows a detailed view of a fan with a compressor ring.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of an engine with two fans and a dedicated center tube in a sectional view.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of an engine with two fans and a center axis in a sectional view.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a sixth exemplary embodiment of an engine with two fans and a combustion engine in a sectional view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an engine 2 having a fan 4, an electric motor 6, a fuel cell arrangement 8, a cowling 10 having an inlet 12 and an outlet nozzle 14 as well as a hydrogen supply manifold 16. The fuel cell arrangement 8 exemplarily comprises single fuel cell units 18, which are realized as PEM fuel cells having an open cathode and are air-cooled. The fuel cell units 18 may be arranged in a ring like manner around a longitudinal axis of the engine 2. However, the fuel cell units 18 do not need to constitute a closed ring shape, they may also be arranged at a distance to each other on a ring having a certain diameter in the cowling. The fuel cell arrangement 8 comprises a cathode side 20 as well as an anode side 22, wherein air as an oxidant is routed to the cathode side 20. Hydrogen from the hydrogen supply manifold 16 is delivered to the anode side 22. Consequently, the fuel cell arrangement 8, i.e. fuel cells or fuel cell stacks inside the fuel cell units 18, conduct a fuel cell process, in which electrical energy, heat, water and oxygen depleted air are created under consumption of hydrogen and oxygen. In the following, fuel cell related features and characteristics, i.e. electrical connections and supply of air and fuel, may also be mentioned when referring to the fuel cell arrangement as a whole.

(9) Electrical energy is supplied to the electric motor 6, which consists of a plurality of coils 24 surrounding the fan 4 and a plurality of permanent magnets 26, movably arranged adjacent to the plurality of coils 24, located between fan 4 and coils 24 and mechanically coupled with the fan 4. The permanent magnets 26 may be integral parts of the fan 4 or may be attached to an outermost diameter of the fan 4. Hence, by suitably exciting the coils 24, the permanent magnets 26 are moved relative to the coils 24, such that a rotation of the fan 4 occurs.

(10) Through rotation of fan 4, air is sucked from the air inlet 12 and accelerated towards the outlet nozzle 14. Due to the acceleration of the air, a thrust force is generated. The nozzle 14 may comprise a continuously decreasing cross-sectional surface area in the direction of the airflow at least in a section. It may comprise a further section with an increasing cross-sectional surface area at an outer end. Hence, the velocity of the airflow is constantly increased, which further increases the thrust force.

(11) Exemplarily, the fan 4 is centerless, which means that it has a gap or a cut-out in a central region 28. Consequently, fan 4 produces an airflow, which is substantially annular and extends from the annular cross-sectional surface area of the fan, which spans between the innermost diameter and the outermost diameter of the fan 4, to the outlet nozzle 14 basically horizontally. In the following, this airflow is considered a main flow 30.

(12) Due to the centerless design of the fan 4 and thanks to Bernoulli's principle, an additional air flow is sucked from the inlet 12 through the central gap or cut-out of the fan 4 into the engine 2 and constitutes a center flow 32, which exits the engine 2 through the outlet nozzle 14. The total airflow substantially equals the annular main flow 30 and the center flow 32.

(13) Still further, driven by an outermost region of the fan 4, cathode supply air is directly supplied to the cathode side 20 of the fuel cell arrangement 8. On passing the fuel cell arrangement 8, it will be partially oxygen depleted and exits the fuel cell arrangement 8 preferably at a side facing the outlet nozzle 14. During the fuel cell process, the fuel cell arrangement 8 only consumes as much oxygen from the air flowing through it as necessary. Hence, the majority of the airflow entering the cathode simply flows through the fuel cell arrangement 8 and adds to the air flow exiting the outlet nozzle 14.

(14) Furthermore, an additional cooling air flow 33 for cooling the fuel cell arrangement 8 may flow through the fuel cell arrangement 8 and may also be discharged into the outlet nozzle 14. This additional cooling air flow may be realized by the air supply to the cathode side 20 itself. Hence, a further fuel cell air flow 34 is added to the total flow responsible for the thrust force.

(15) Anodes of the fuel cell arrangement 8 may periodically or continuously be purged such that periodically or continuously an anode purge flow 36 adds to the total air flow. Purging means, that a portion of anode outlet gas is purged to the exhaust, which helps preventing a buildup of contaminations or impurities on the anode. Altogether, this leads to extending the useable life of the fuel cell arrangement 8.

(16) The hydrogen supply manifold 16 may be a tubular device having a hydrogen inlet and a plurality of hydrogen outlets, which may be realized by a plurality of ports distributed over the outer surface of the hydrogen supply manifold 16 and connected to the fuel cells units, fuel cells or fuel cell stacks of the fuel cell arrangement 8.

(17) It is preferred to use a plurality of inverters 38 for providing a suitable voltage and current to the coils 24 of the electric motor 6, based on an output voltage and a providable current from the fuel cell arrangement 8. For connecting the inverters 38 to the fuel cell arrangement 8, plugs and sockets may be used. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, several fuel cell units 18 are each connected to an inverter 38, which in turn is connected to a coil 24. This arrangement may be constituting a module 40, wherein each inverter 38 may be connectable to a control unit 42. Electrical connections may be provided through direct contacts between the fuel cell arrangement 8, the inverters 38 and between the inverters 38 and the coils 24 as well as an additional ground line connectable to all of these components.

(18) The control unit 42 may be responsible for controlling the inverters 38, such that they provide suitable individual voltages to the coils 24, thereby leading to a desired rotational speed of the fan 4. This may be achieved through a plurality of control lines 43. The control unit 42 may in turn be connectable to a flight control system of the aircraft to be propelled.

(19) In this exemplary embodiment, the fan 4 is supported through a magnetic bearing, which is realized through the combination of coils 24 and magnets 26. The coils 24, controlled by the control unit 42 or another, not shown, dedicated bearing control unit, aim to maintain a predetermined gap between the magnets 26 and the coils 24. As the whole circumference of the fan 4 is surrounded by the magnets 26, two opposing magnets 26 may be attracted to their respective coils 24, such that the gap on both sides does not fall below a predetermined minimum. It goes without saying, that all other coils 24 and magnets 26 conduct this gap control. Through dedicated gap sensors distributed around the circumference of the fan 4, individual gaps over the whole circumference of the fan 4 may be controlled. Additionally, the axial thrust force is transferred into the structure of the engine and the fuselage.

(20) In FIG. 2, another exemplary embodiment, i.e. an engine 44, is shown, which distinguishes from engine 2 of FIG. 1 especially through the use of a second fan 46 downstream of the fan 4. In the following, the fan 4 located upstream of the second fan 46 is named first fan 4 or leading fan 4. The second fan 46 is the trailing fan 46. In analogy to the setup of the first fan 4, the second fan 46 is mechanically coupled with additional magnets 48, which are associated to additional coils 50 surrounding the second fan 46. Consequently, the second fan 46 may be driven independently from the first fan 4 through a second electric motor 51.

(21) It is desirable to counter-rotate the first fan 4 and the second fan 46 for reducing the resulting reaction torque of the engine 44, which acts on engine support means. Further, usually an arrangement of two counter-rotating fans may clearly increase the efficiency compared to the use of a single fan with the same air volume flow or two separate, parallel arranged fans.

(22) In this exemplary embodiment, both the first fan 4 and the second fan 48 are supported through a magnetic bearing created by the combination of magnets 26, 48 and the associated coils 24 and 50. As the fans 4 and 46 are completely independent, both require an individual bearing control through dedicated bearing control units (not shown) or the control unit 42, associated with a plurality of gap sensors.

(23) FIG. 3a shows an engine 52, which distinguishes from the engine 44 of FIG. 2 in that compressor rings 54 and 56, i.e. ring shaped compressors, are used, while basically all other components remain unchanged. These are situated in an outermost region of an associated first fan 58 or a second fan 60 as indicated in a front view onto an inlet side of the engine 52 in FIG. 3b.

(24) These compressor rings 54 and 56 are useful for delivering an adequate air flow 57 for providing oxygen to the fuel cell arrangement 8 especially on cruise level. Exemplarily, blades of the second fan 60 and blades of the compressor ring 56 are shown, wherein the fan blades and the compressor blades are exemplarily separated through a rigid ring 62. The use of one of the compressor rings, e.g. compressor ring 54, for an engine 2 shown in FIG. 2, is explicitly possible and the scope of protection defined herein is not limited to the use of compressor rings for engines with two fans.

(25) In FIG. 4, an engine 64 is depicted, which is based on engine 52 shown in FIG. 3 and comprises a center tube 66, which is supported inside the cowling 10 through a plurality of preferably evenly distributed stators 68, which extend from the center tube 66 to the cowling in a radial manner. Consequently, a first fan 70 and a second fan 72 may be supported by mechanical bearings 74 and 76 on an outer diameter of the center tube 66. The mechanical bearings may be ball bearings or hydro dynamic glide bearings. In this case, the electric motors constituted by magnets 26 and 48 as well as coils 24 and 50 are not responsible for supporting the fans 70 and 72. The feature of a dedicated center tube 66 may also be applied to any other of the engines 2 or 44 as well as to the engines described further below, with or without the use of mechanical bearings 74 and 76 for at least one fan.

(26) Further, FIG. 5 shows an engine 78, which is based on engine 52 shown in FIG. 3 and additionally comprises a rotatably supported central axis 80, which is supported through radial stators 82 fixed on an inside of the cowling 10 and associated bearings 88 and 90. This allows to support a first fan 84 and a second fan 86 on the central axis 80 in a rotatable manner. Fastening means 87 may extend from the axis 80 to the inner diameters of the fans 84 and 86, wherein the fastening means 87 may be rods, a grids or any other means that allows to support the inner diameter of the fans 84 and 86 on the axis. Due to the support on the central axis 80, the outer radius of the mechanical bearings may be as small as possible, such that the weight and complexity of the mechanical bearings is very low. Further, this bearing concept may be applied to all other engines 2 or 44 as well as to the engines described further below. Also, the central axis 80 may be supported in a dedicated center tube 66 of the engine 64 in FIG. 4. It goes without saying that the axis may be held in a non-rotatable fashion, while the fans 84 and 86 are rotatably supported relative to the axis 80.

(27) Still further, FIG. 6 shows an engine 92, based on engine 52 shown in FIG. 3 and comprising a combustion engine 94 in a center region. This combustion engine 94 provides a flow of gas emanating from a combustion process inside the combustion engine 94, which may be driven through the supply of hydrogen and air, or alternatively through a dedicated combustion engine fuel, such as kerosene. The combustion engine 94 may be a ram jet or a turbojet engine. The combustion engine may be operated in phases, where an increased demand of thrust exists, such as during start or climbing.

(28) In addition, it should be pointed out that comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and a or an does not exclude a plural number. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that characteristics or steps which have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments can also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above. Reference characters in the claims are not to be interpreted as limitations.