Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.4
2.1
Journals
Aerospace
Special Issues
Scientific and Technological Advances in Hydrogen Combustion Aircraft
share announcement

Scientific and Technological Advances in Hydrogen Combustion Aircraft

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Aeronautics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2025 | Viewed by 1092

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Paul Palies

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee Space Institute, 411 B. H. Goethert Pkwy, Tullahoma, TN 37388, USA
Interests: combustion; hydrogen; mixing; turbulence; swirl; premixed; partially-premixed; stratified; flame displacement speed; cryogenic; cryogenic distillation; separation; aviation; aircraft; swirler; heat exchanger; injector; combustor; jet engine; fluid mechanics; flame stabilization; acoustics; combustion instability; flow decompositions; fuel burn reduction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mitigating the climate change trajectory is a major challenge across the globe. Advancing the future state of aviation with decarbonized aircraft operated with hydrogen fuel is thus important in this worldwide effort. To meet the future deployment of clean, decarbonized, safe, and efficient thermal-powered aircraft in civil aviation, research on fundamental processes and mechanisms at work in aviation technologies is required to improve them. New concepts can be developed and investigated to open new routes as well. Typical operating conditions (operating pressure and inlet temperature) of interest encompass atmospheric and engine-relevant conditions (1 atm, 35 atm) (295 K, 750 K) . Liquid cryogenic injections are of interest. This Special Issue is focused on scientific and technological research for hydrogen combustion subsonic aircraft. Contributions that advance efficiency gains across flow processes and/or technologies are of interest. Submissions of interest include, but are not limited to, contributions to the following four topics in particular: (1) fundamental physico-chemical progresses such as chemical kinetic mechanism development, flame speed studies, cryogenic thermodynamics and transport data, turbulence versus preferential diffusion effects in hydrogen combustion, and autoignition studies; (2) design studies associated with a technological component such as fuel distribution system parts, gaseous or cryogenic insulated tanks, flow over turbine blades, heat transfer in heat exchanger, O2/N2 separation processes including cryogenic distillation, mixing in injector, flashback and flame arrester, and flow–swirler–flame interactions; (3) aircraft system-level design studies for performance assessment, fuel burn calculations, optimized aircraft range, and studies for improved routes/operations; and (4) laboratory-scale and open access complex geometry injector and combustor investigations including thermal-to-kinetic energy conversion, flame stabilization, and combustion instability. This Special Issue is seeking experimental, computational, or theoretical contributions in these four areas. Innovative methods including machine learning or big data tools will be considered. Incremental advances and disruptive concept contributions will be reviewed.

Dr. Paul Palies
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For authors who wish to submit a paper, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office (top of the webpage link) prior submitting full paper.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • combustion
  • hydrogen
  • mixing
  • turbulence
  • swirl
  • premixed
  • partially premixed
  • stratified
  • flame displacement speed
  • cryogenic
  • cryogenic distillation
  • separation
  • aviation
  • aircraft
  • swirler
  • heat exchanger
  • injector
  • combustor
  • jet engine
  • fluid mechanics
  • flame stabilization
  • acoustics
  • combustion instability
  • fuel burn

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 3780 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of Pure Hydrogen Flame in a Matrix Micro-Mixing Combustor
by Zhenzhen Feng, Xiaojing Tian, Liangliang Xu, Xi Xia and Fei Qi
Aerospace 2025, 12(6), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12060464 - 23 May 2025
Abstract
Pure hydrogen combustion is a critical pathway to achieving zero-carbon emissions for the gas turbine industry. Micro-mixing combustion is one of the most widely attractive hydrogen combustion methods in gas turbines. This study investigates pure hydrogen flame in a 3 × 3 matrix [...] Read more.
Pure hydrogen combustion is a critical pathway to achieving zero-carbon emissions for the gas turbine industry. Micro-mixing combustion is one of the most widely attractive hydrogen combustion methods in gas turbines. This study investigates pure hydrogen flame in a 3 × 3 matrix micro-mix combustor. The setup includes nine micro-mix injectors, each equipped with a bluff body and a hydrogen injection tube. The OH* chemiluminescence imaging and PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) techniques were employed to visualize the single- and triple-flame morphology and flow field under various operating conditions. The results show that equivalence ratio, flow rate, and air injector exit angle can influence the flame structure and combustion characteristics, providing an insightful understanding of micro-mix pure hydrogen combustion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scientific and Technological Advances in Hydrogen Combustion Aircraft)
17 pages, 13877 KiB  
Article
Experimental–Numerical Comparison of H2–Air Detonations: Influence of N2 Chemistry and Diffusion Effects
by Vigneshwaran Sankar, Karl P. Chatelain and Deanna A. Lacoste
Aerospace 2025, 12(4), 297; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12040297 - 31 Mar 2025
Viewed by 206
Abstract
This study evaluates the performance of two-dimensional (2D) detonation simulations against recent experimental measurements for a stoichiometric hydrogen–air mixture at 25 kPa. The validation parameters rely on the average cell size (λ), the cell size variability (2σ/λ [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the performance of two-dimensional (2D) detonation simulations against recent experimental measurements for a stoichiometric hydrogen–air mixture at 25 kPa. The validation parameters rely on the average cell size (λ), the cell size variability (2σ/λ), and the dynamics of both the relative detonation speed (D/DCJ) and the local induction zone length (Δi) along the cell cycle. We select Mével 2017’s and San Diego’s chemical models for 2D simulations, after evaluating 13 chemical models with Zeldovich–von Neumann–Döring (ZND) simulations. From this model selection, the effects of nitrogen chemistry and diffusion (Navier–Stokes or Euler equations) are evaluated on the validation parameters. The main findings are as follows: the simulations conducted with the Mével 2017 (with N2 chemistry) model provide the best agreement with λmeanexp (≈17%), while the experimental cell variability (2σ/λ) is reproduced within 20% by most simulation cases. This model (Mével 2017 with N2 chemistry) also presents good agreement with both the Δi and D/DCJ dynamics, whereas San Diego’s simulations under-predict them along the cell. Interestingly, the speed decay along the cell length exhibits self-similar behavior across all cases, suggesting independence from cell size variability, unlike the Δi dynamics. Finally, this study demonstrates the minimal impact of the diffusion on the simulation results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scientific and Technological Advances in Hydrogen Combustion Aircraft)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

58 pages, 3865 KiB  
Review
Flow and Flame Mechanisms for Swirl-Stabilized Combustors
by Paul Palies
Aerospace 2025, 12(5), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12050430 - 12 May 2025
Viewed by 384
Abstract
This article reviews the physical and chemical mechanisms associated with unsteady swirl-stabilized partially or fully lean premixed combustion. The processes of flame stabilization, mode conversion, swirl number oscillation, equivalence ratio oscillation, and vortex rollup are described. The key challenges associated with flow-flame dynamics [...] Read more.
This article reviews the physical and chemical mechanisms associated with unsteady swirl-stabilized partially or fully lean premixed combustion. The processes of flame stabilization, mode conversion, swirl number oscillation, equivalence ratio oscillation, and vortex rollup are described. The key challenges associated with flow-flame dynamics for several sources of perturbations are presented and discussed. The Rayleigh criterion is discussed. This article summarizes the scientific knowledge gained on swirling flames dynamics in terms of modeling, theoretical analysis, and transient measurements with advanced diagnostics. The following are specifically documented: (i) the effect of the swirler on swirling flames; (ii) the analytical results, computational modeling, and experimental measurements of swirling flame dynamics; (iii) the influence of flow features on flame response of swirling flames for combustion instabilities studies; and (iv) the identification and description of the combustion dynamics mechanisms responsible for swirl-stabilized combustion instabilities. Relevant elements from the literature in this context for hydrogen fuel are included. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scientific and Technological Advances in Hydrogen Combustion Aircraft)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop