Thermal-Electrical Co-Optimization of Liquid Hydrogen-Cooled Superconducting Motors for Heavy-Duty Transport

Abstract

Full electrification of heavy-duty transport is constrained by the low specific power density of conventional electric drives, and High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) machines, while capable in principle of meeting aviation power-density targets above 15 kW/kg, are normally negated by the mass of active cryocoolers. We introduce an integrated cryogenic-electric machine architecture in which liquid hydrogen (LH₂) serves a dual role, first as a direct cryo-coolant for an HTS synchronous motor and subsequently as fuel for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack. Coupled finite-element electromagnetic and transient computational fluid dynamics simulation of a 2 MW aircraft propulsion motor shows that the LH₂ flow demanded by the fuel cell exceeds the motor's cooling requirement across all flight phases, eliminating dedicated cryocooling mass and yielding a system-level power density of 27.8 kW/kg.