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Some advantages of methane in an aircraft gas turbineBecause liquid methane may be obtained from existing natural gas sources or produced synthetically from a range of other hydrocarbon sources (coal, biomass, shale, organic waste), it is considered as an aviation fuel in a simplified cycle analysis of the performance of a turboprop engine intended for operation at Mach 0.8 and 10,688 m altitude. Performance comparisons are given for four cases in which the turbine cooling air is either not cooled or cooled to -111, -222, and -333 K, and the advantages and problems that may be expected from direct use of the cryogenic fuel in turbine cooling are discussed. It is shown that while (1) methane combustion characteristics are appreciably different from those of Jet A fuel and will require the development of different combustor designs, and (2) the safe integration of methane cryotanks into transport aircraft structures poses a major design problem, a highly fuel-efficient turboprop engine fueled by methane appears to be feasible.
Document ID
19810049773
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Graham, R. W.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Glassman, A. J.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, Ohio, United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
October 1, 1980
Subject Category
Aircraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
SAE PAPER 801154
Meeting Information
Meeting: Aerospace Congress and Exposition
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Start Date: October 13, 1980
End Date: October 16, 1980
Sponsors: Society of Automotive Engineers
Accession Number
81A34177
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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