Physics-Informed Neural Networks in Clean Combustion: A Pathway to Sustainable Aerospace Propulsion

Abstract

Achieving clean combustion systems is crucial in terms of solving environmental impacts, decarbonization needs and sustainability matters. Traditional combustion modeling techniques via computational fluid dynamics with accurate chemical kinetics face obstacles in computational cost and accurate representation of turbulence-chemistry interactions. Physically Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) as a new framework, merges physical laws with data-driven learning and shows great potential as an alternative methodology. By directly integrating conservation equations into their training process, PINNs achieve accurate mesh-free modeling of complex combustion phenomena despite having limited data sets. This review examines how this approach applies to clean combustion systems while focusing on their impact in aerospace applications including flame dynamics, turbulent combustion, emission prediction, and instability management in propulsion systems. Next-generation aerospace engines rely on PINNs to reduce computational costs while increasing predictive performance and enabling real-time control methods. This analysis concludes by exploring current barriers and future paths, while demonstrating how PINNs can revolutionize sustainable and efficient combustion technologies in aerospace propulsion systems.