Aircraft engine performance augmented by wet compression

This work presents a systematic thermodynamic study to identify and assess the effects of wet compression stage conditioning in aeroengines. Similar techniques found in the literature are initially reviewed. The performance of a modern two-spool turbofan engine variant is then modelled. To account for the humidification effects, a 0D evaporation model is developed and three fluids (water, jet fuel and liquid hydrogen) are evaluated. The results verify that earlier injection is more effective per mass injected, if water is used. However, upstream injection is limited by the amount of water that can be absorbed from the air stream. If jet fuel is used, injection is not feasible for the conditions studied and is overall limited by its autoignition and solidification temperatures. Hydrogen injection indicates that it may facilitate several valid injection points, at low quantities. A further error propagation analysis is made, to evaluate the model's sensitivity in ambient conditions. Overall, a comparison of the three fluids indicates hydrogen's feasibility (up to 15%.Thrust and -35% for EINOx as compared to water's up to 12.5%.Thrust, -28% EINOx for similar injection levels) as compared to the other two fluids.