Session: Student Poster Competition

Submission Number: 186970

Thermodynamic Analysis of the Operating Cycle of the Trs‑18 Micro Jet Engine Powered by Conventional Fuel With the Addition of Hydrogen 

In the era of an increasingly intense global pursuit of decarbonizing air transportation, hydrogen is gaining recognition as one of the most promising alternative energy carriers for future propulsion systems. While hydrogen combustion processes have been extensively investigated in the context of large‑scale gas turbines and industrial power systems, significantly fewer studies focus on their application within micro‑scale jet engines. As a result, the understanding of how hydrogen enrichment influences the thermodynamic behavior of such compact propulsion units remains limited.

The present work aims to address this research gap by performing a comprehensive thermodynamic analysis of the operating cycle of the TRS‑18 micro jet engine. The investigation was carried out using an original computational script implemented in the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) environment, relying on the classical Brayton cycle as the theoretical foundation.

In the developed computational model, dodecane was selected as a representative aviation fuel and compared with pure hydrogen, enabling a systematic evaluation of key performance characteristics. The study examines thermal efficiency, as well as detailed distributions of temperature and pressure at characteristic cycle points. The obtained results demonstrate pronounced differences in thermodynamic parameters arising from the fundamentally distinct physicochemical properties of both fuels.

The model constructed in this study provides a robust basis for subsequent numerical simulations, including CFD analyses, as well as future experimental investigations of blended‑fuel co‑combustion. Ultimately, the insights gained may significantly contribute to the advancement of low‑emission propulsion technologies not only for aviation applications but also for decentralized thermal energy systems.

Presenting Author: Aleksandra Woźniak Lodz University of Technology, Institute of Turbomachinery

Presenting Author Biography: Aleksandra Woźniak is a PhD student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Lodz University of Technology. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and Machine Design and a master's degree in Production Engineering, both from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Lodz University of Technology.
Her research interests focus on low- and zero-emission combustion engines. In her doctoral research, she focuses on the subject of micro turbojet engines, and alternative aviation fuels, with particular emphasis on hydrogen combustion. Her current work involves thermodynamic cycle analysis and numerical modeling of propulsion systems.

Authors:

Aleksandra Woźniak Lodz University of Technology, Institute of Turbomachinery
Artur Gutkowski Lodz University of Technology, Institute of Turbomachinery
Grzegorz Liśkiewicz Lodz University of Technology, Institute of Turbomachinery