Engine control and low-NOx combustion for hydrogen fuelled aircraft gas turbines

Under the project leadership of Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus the manufacturers AlliedSignal Aerospace and Bodenseewerk Geratetechnik together with the Fachhochschule Aachen initiated by R&D-programme to demonstrate safe engine control and low pollution combustion in a hydrogen fuelled Auxiliary Power Unit GTCP 36-300. The joint efforts are based on spin offs from three sources: (1) development of a digital and pneumatic engine control equipment for gaseous fuels by BGT together with FH Aachen, partly funded by the German-Russian CRYOPLANE project, (2) FH Aachen's development of the principle of micro-mix diffusive combustion of hydrogen, where substantial reductions of the NOx-emissions were achieved, funded by the Ministry of Science and Research of Northrhine-Westphalia and the Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project (EQHHPP), and (3) early successful tests with the KHD T216 gas turbine engine running on hydrogen (FH, Aachen, 1992). Meanwhile the Airbus A320 APU GTCP 36-300 was converted to hydrogen operation and successfully tested (FH Aachen, 1996). Based on these results, a new micro-mix cumbustor configuration was developed which enabled further NOx-emissions reduction. The new configuration has still not been tested in the engine.