PM Emission From a Commercial Jet Engine -- Project APEX

Project APEX (Aircraft Particle Emissions eXperiment) was a multi-agency commercial aircraft emission characterization and technology demonstration experiment. Its objective was to characterize particle and trace gas precursor species in the emissions from a NASA DC-8 aircraft with General Electric CFM56-2C1 engines at the engine exit plane as well as selected down stream locations. This was to advance the understanding of particle emissions and their evolution in the atmosphere from a current in-service turbofan engine. The test was conducted at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base California during April 15-30, 2004. Participants included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Defense, the aviation industry (General Electric, Pratt and Whitney, and Boeing), and the research community (Aerodyne Research Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Process Metrix, University of California-Riverside, and University of Missouri-Rolla)

Influence of Ambient Temperature on the PM Emissions from a Gas Turbine Engine

During Project AAFEX, PM emissions measurements were conducted on a CFM56-2C1 gas turbine engine in January 2009 in Palmdale CA. The engine was mounted on a NASA DC-8 aircraft, which was parked on the runway, and emission samples were extracted at the engine exit plane (1m), in the near field (30m), and in the advected plume (145m). The engine was operated at several power levels, and burned several fuels: JP-8, a Fischer-Tropsch fuel derived from natural gas (FT1), and a second Fischer-Tropsch fuel derived from gasified coal (FT2). In addition to these fuels, 50:50 blends of the Fischer-Tropsch fuels and JP-8 were also studied. Wide variations in ambient temperature, especially between early morning and late afternoon were experienced during the campaign. This report summarizes and describes the results of AAFEX, in terms of the influence of ambient temperature on total PM emissions at the exit plane of a CFM56-2C1 engine

Emissions from Alternate Aviation Fuels and their Environmental Impact

Track II: Transportation and BiofuelsIncludes audio file (19 min.)The anticipated growth in commercial air traffic, rising fuel costs, and an increasing desire to reduce reliance on fossil fuels produced in politically unstable regions, has driven research into alternate renewable fuels, either from biomass (Biofuels) or synthesis from coal, natural gas and other renewable feedstocks (Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuels). Industry and government has recently sponsored (Dec 07, Jan 09) two engine emission tests led in part by the Missouri S&T team. The tests focused on burning alternative and conventional fuels and associated blends in CFM56-type commercial gas turbine engines. The CFM56 engine type is the most common engine in the global commercial fleet powering greater than 70% of the US domestic fleet. The purpose of these emission tests was to quantify any differences in particulate matter (PM) and hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emissions observed between the different fuels, and assess the environmental impacts that may result from these differences. The PM measurements indicate that, especially for the 100% F-T fuel, PM number and mass are diminished at all powers relative to conventional fuels. Some significant differences in hydro-carbon speciation were also observed for the 100% F-T fuel. Differences were less pronounce for the blends. This paper will present a concise summary of the results of these measurement campaigns along with an assessment of any associated environmental impact changes, focusing mainly on airport local air quality and the global atmosphere

In Situ Measurement of the Aerosol Size Distribution in Stratospheric Solid Rocket Motor Exhaust Plumes

The concentration and size distribution of aerosol in the stratospheric exhaust plumes of two Space Shuttle rockets and one Titan IV rocket were measured using a two component aerosol sampling system carried aboard a WB‐57F aircraft. Aerosol size distribution in the 0.01 µm to 4 µm diameter size range was measured using a two component sampling system. The measured distributions display a trimodal form with modes near 0.005 µm, 0.09 µm, and 2.03 µm and are used to infer the relative mass fractionation among the three modes. While the smallest mode has been estimated to contain as much as 10% of the total mass of SRM exhaust alumina, we find show that the smallest mode contains less than 0.05% of the alumina mass. This fraction is so small so as to significantly reduce the likelihood that heterogeneous reactions on the SRM alumina surfaces could produce a significant global impact on stratospheric chemistry

Particulate Sizing and Emission Indices for a Jet Engine Exhaust Sampled At Cruise

Particle size and emission indices measurements for jet engines, primarily the Rolls Royce RB211 engines on a NASA 757 aircraft are reported. These data were used to estimate the fraction of fuel sulfur that was converted to particulates. These measurements were made in-situ with the sampling aircraft several kilometers behind the source. Some complimentary ground measurements on the same source aircraft and engines are also reported. Significant differences are seen between the ground observations and the in-situ observations, indicating that plume processes are changing the aerosol\u27s characteristics

Particle Concentration Characterization for Jet Engine Emissions under Cruise Conditions

Airborne particle measurements during NASA project SUCCESS have shown that particle concentration profiles serve as good indicators of aircraft exhaust plume encounters. During exhaust plume penetrations there is a strong anticorrelation between the ratio of nonvolatile/total particulates and Nitrogen Oxide (NO) concentrations. an increase in fuel sulfur content was found to increase the total particle emission index, while the nonvolatile emission index remained unchanged. the EI\u27s increased by a factor of 2.6 as the fuel sulfur increased from 70 - 700 ppm. the large particle size distribution (200-400 nm) was seen as a good long term indicator of an aircraft exhaust plume. Airborne particle measurements during NASA project SUCCESS have shown that particle concentration profiles serve as good indicators of aircraft exhaust plume encounters. During exhaust plume penetrations there is a strong anticorrelation between the ratio of nonvolatile/total particulates and Nitrogen Oxide (NO) concentrations. an increase in fuel sulfur content was found to increase the total particle emission index, while the nonvolatile emission index remained unchanged. the EI\u27s increased by a factor of 2.6 as the fuel sulfur increased from 70-700 ppm. the large particle size distribution (200-400 nm) was seen as a good long term indicator of an aircraft exhaust plume

Observations of Particulates within the North Atlantic Flight Corridor: POLINAT 2, September-October 1997

This paper discusses particulate concentration and size distribution data gathered using the University of Missouri-Rolla Mobile Aerosol Sampling System (UMR-MASS), and used to investigate the southern extent of the eastern end of the North Atlantic Flight Corridor (NAFC) during project Pollution From Aircraft Emissions in the North Atlantic Flight Corridor/Subsonic Assessment (SASS) Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (POLINAT 2/SONEX) from September 19 to October 23, 1997. The analysis presented in this paper focuses on the corridor effect, or enhancement of pollutants by jet aircraft combustion events. To investigate the phenomena, both vertical and horizontal profiles of the corridor, and regions immediately adjacent to the corridor, were performed. The profiles showed a time-dependent enhancement of particulates within the corridor, and a nonvolatile (with respect to thermal volatilization at 300° C) aerosol enhancement at corridor altitudes by a factor of 3.6. The southern extent of the North Atlantic Flight Corridor was established from a four flight average of the particulate data and yielded a boundary near 42.5° N during the study period. A size distribution analysis of the nonvolatile particulates revealed an enhancement in the \u3c40 nm particulates for size distributions recorded within the flight corridor

Calibration of Gas Flow Meters using Choked Flow and an Evacuated Vessel

The measurement of gas flow rates is of great importance in a wide range of modern technologies. This paper introduces a simple, yet accurate technique for in-house calibration of gas FMs (mass and volumetric) even under harsh environmental conditions such as encountered during field measurement campaigns. The method requires only readily available, low cost components: a vessel of known volume, an air pump, a pressure sensor and a metal plate orifice or a needle valve to act as a CO. The unique property of choked flow in the CO is used here for flow calibration. In the method presented here a vessel is evacuated to below the critical pressure ( \u3c 0.53 of upstream pressure) and then allowed to refill with ambient air (or some other process gas) under so-called choked flow conditions through the CO. The method presented here leverages that the flow rate upstream of the CO is not only constant but readily determined from (a) the known V VESS, (b) the measured time rate of change of the absolute pressure in the vessel and (c) the ideal gas law. This calculated flow rate can be used for calibration of FMs. The accuracy of the method depends only on the accuracy of the pressure measurement, the timer and the value of the V VESS. The flow rate computed in this way is found to be in excellent agreement (typically 1% difference) with the flow rate measured by a soap film FM (Gilibrator). As expected from theory this method is found to work for all kinds of CFRs (here: various types of metal plate orifices and needle valves were tested), gas types (here: air, Argon, and CO2) and upstream pressures (here: between 650 hPa and 1400 hPa). The accuracy of this technique (∼1%) is as good as that of standard volume displacement methods (e.g. soap film FMs) (typically 1% difference), the standard of laboratory-based flow calibrators, but less expensive and more suitable for harsh environments

Observation of Stratospheric Ozone Depletion associated with Delta II Rocket Emissions

Ozone, chlorine monoxide, methane, and submicron particulate concentrations were measured in the stratospheric plume wake of a Delta II rocket powered by a combination of solid (NH4ClO4/Al) and liquid (LOX/kerosene) propulsion systems. We apply a simple kinetics model describing the main features of gas-phase chlorine reactions in solid propellant exhaust plumes to derive the abundance of total reactive chlorine in the plume and estimate the associated cumulative ozone loss. Measured ozone loss during two plume encounters (12 and 39 minutes after launch) exceeded the estimate by about a factor of about two. Insofar as only the most significant gas-phase chlorine reactions are included in the calculation, these results suggest that additional plume wake chemical processes or emissions other than reactive chlorine from the Delta II propulsion system affect ozone levels in the plume