With the companies SBES GmbH and AYED-ENGINEERING GmbH, the Chair of Turbomachinery and Flight Propulsion started a new project in February 2023.
The first part of the project is about the conceptual development of a test rig for direct hydrogen combustion. The design and operating conditions of the combustion chamber test rig will be designed to match the behavior of the combustion chamber of an Allison 250-C20B engine. This will verify the feasibility of running the helicopter engine on hydrogen instead of Jet-A1.
In the second part of the project, a conceptual study will be conducted to convert the Allison to a hybrid engine. In this case, the hybrid propulsion system consists of the turbo generator (Allison engine), which runs on hydrogen, in combination with a fuel cell system. In future flight missions, the turbo generator will serve as a "booster propulsion" during take-off and landing, while the fuel cells
will provide the energy supply during cruise flights.