Compact Heat Exchangers with Curved Fins for Hydrogen Turbofan Intercooling

Abstract Hydrogen is being considered as a possible path toward carbon-neutral aviation. There are additional advantages besides its main benefit of CO2-free combustion. One application is to use it for aero engine heat management due to its cryogenic temperature and high heat capacity, including intercooling and exhaust heat recuperation. The focus of this paper is on the design of a compact heat exchanger (HEX) integrated into an intermediate compressor duct (ICD), which could decrease compression work and specific fuel consumption (SFC). This compact heat exchanger features curved fins to promote flow turning and decrease pressure losses compared to more conventional straight fin heat exchangers. Conceptual design and duct shape optimization has been carried out which produced integrated ICD heat exchanger designs with significantly lower air-side total pressure losses compared to their conventional straight fin counterparts, which could improve system level integration and engine performance. A direct outcome of this study is a pressure loss correlation, which can be used in future engine system-level trade studies.