PrandtlPlane Propelled with Liquid Hydrogen: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Liquid hydrogen aircraft engines could produce a low environmental impact, in accordance with the new requirements (Vision 2020 and Vision 2050) of the European Community, but the safety against fire is not simple for a conventional configuration. In this paper, a preliminary PrandtlPlane configuration of a liquid hydrogen propelled aircraft is presented, where the safety against fire is solved with a full separation between fuel and passengers. The aircraft specifications are: 250 passengers, a range of 2500 nm and a cruise speed of 0.75 Mach; the best cruise altitude and the optimum wing aspect ratio have been determined as a compromise between high performances and small environmental impact.