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Completed TRL 2 (started at 1, targeting 2)
This project aims to explore high OPR (>60) Turbofan engines and HGEP (Hybrid Gas-Electric Propulsion) using counter-flow heat-pipe airfoils (including oscillating heat pipes) with nanofluids as the working fluid instead of alkali metals and by using fuel and the bypass stream as heat sinks. This is a novel concept with strong industry interest. Industry studies have shown that conventional turbofan engine architecture is not capable of improvement beyond a compressor overall pressure ratio (OPR) of 60 due to lack of cooling margins for the turbine and high temperatures in the aft compressor stages. For hybrid gas electric propulsion (HGEP) thermal management for MW-size motors is a major barrier. The goal of this project was to evaluate the feasibility (considering safety, sfc, heat capacity and weight) of heat pipe cooling for jet engines using organic nanofluids as the working fluid to alleviate concerns related to liquid metal heat pipes.
One minute per flight is globally equivalent to 4.8 tons of CO2 added to the atmosphere per year. Aviation accounts for $1.5T of U.S. economic activity and has generated a positive trade balance of $78.3B in 2014 and supports 11.8M jobs. The aviation industry is set to expand and thus CO2 emissions are set to rise unless aggressive CO2 emission reduction goals are met. One way to achieve this is to reduce fuel burn by improving the efficiency of gas turbine engines by increasing the OPR. This cannot be achieved using conventional technology due to the high turbine temperatures that would arise. For gas turbine engines heat pipes have never been used due to constraints in manufacturing, heat transfer and safety concerns (alkali metal leakage). In 5-10 years - advance turbine technology to higher OPR in the short term. In 10-20 years - enable thermal management for electric motors and hybrid gas electric architectures. Heat pipes have been studied and used for application in Sterling engines for in-space application and there is an existing infrastructure to develop heat pipe or related technology for aeronautics.
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