This paper aims to advance the understanding of greener technologies suitable for the aviation industry by introducing a dynamic modeling approach for the integration of hydrogen solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and gas turbine (GT) hybrid systems as a power unit in electric aircraft propulsion. Despite the significant potential for emission reduction and improved fuel efficiency, the adoption of the SOFC/GT systems in aviation is impeded by many factors including a lack of understanding of dynamic performance under diverse flight conditions. Through a comprehensive approach that leverages previously developed dynamic modeling software, this paper presents an analysis of the dynamic response and electrochemical characteristics of the system under the varying power demands of a flight. The designed system achieves an efficiency of 71.4% and a power output of 1.29 MW. The methodology also emphasizes the complexities of flight conditions and potential areas for system optimization and improvement. This study, with a focus on the rapid response of the SOFC/GT system operated in a representative Cessna S550 Citation S/II aircraft flight under dynamic conditions, paves the way for the broader adoption of this technology, contributing to the mitigation of the environmental impacts of aviation.
Alsamri et al. (Mon,) studied this question.