DESIGN OF HYDROGEN STORAGE SYSTEMS IN NEW-GENERATION REGIONAL AIRCRAFT

New generation regional aircraft requires the implementation of electric propulsion technologies to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. Other than propulsion system, this revolution affects the whole aircraft architecture, demanding for the design of brand new configuration, with different performance and/or characteristics than conventional ones. One breakthrough consists in the use of hydrogen, which is a compelling option for sustainable mobility either to be burned or to feed fuel cells generating electricity. In both cases, this requires storing hydrogen on board, with less flexibility than conventional fuels due to volume and pressure requirements. To design appropriately hydrogen tanks, preliminary design of aircraft and its architecture need to be addressed. In this context, this paper showcases the pressure vessel detailed design to equip a hydrogen fueled regional aircraft. Starting from a multi-disciplinary analysis and optimization of the vehicle according the top level aircraft requirements, the hydrogen storing system is designed in detail considering different solutions. A further analysis shows the necessity to account the weight of the system versus its volume/surface ratio as a key parameter for preliminary design of such systems. In addition, the ratio between the actual volume of the tank and the volume of the hydrogen can give an overview of the system efficiency once the hydrogen rate is set to have a specific hydrogen duration.