BLEED AIR OIL CONTAMINATION PARTICULATE CHARACTERIZATION by JAKE ROTH B.S., Kansas State University, 2011 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering College of Engineering KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2015 Approved by: Approved by: Co-Major Professor Co-Major Professor Dr. Mohammad H. Hosni Dr. Byron W. Jones Copyright JAKE ROTH 2015 Abstract Gas turbine engine oil is contaminating the bleed air of an aircraft with enough frequency and intensity that health concerns are of public interest. While previous work measured micro particles and used only a simulator, this work mainly consists of measurements in the nanoparticle and ultrafine range using both the simulator and two different gas turbine engines. No previous research has been conducted using working jet engines to simulate a bleed air system and characterize the oil particulate contamination. Oil was injected into a bleed air simulator and an Allison 250 CC18 turbine engine in order to observe the particle size distributions resulting from thermal degradation and was measured with three particle sizing counters and an FTIR. The aerosol size distributions are given for various temperature and pressure ranges consistent with the process conditions associated with the bleed air in a commercial aircraft. Particle sizes of approximately 80nm to 100nm were observed at temperatures over 200°C while particles similar to injection distributions and smaller than measureable size were observed at lower power settings. Temperature is thought to be the controlling factor affecting particle size above 200°C while blade shear is likely the dominant factor for lower temperatures. The bleed air simulator produced results similar to the gas turbine engine results at higher temperatures, but did not replicate the size characteristics at lower temperatures. The observed particles are ultrafine and situated in the size range that may impact health safety more than larger particles. Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xiii Dedication .................................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Defining air quality incidents on aircraft .............................................................................. 2 1.3 Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 3 1.3.1 Typical Aircraft Bleed Air System ................................................................................ 3 1.3.2 Contamination Events .................................................................................................... 7 1.3.3 Thermal Degradation ..................................................................................................... 9 1.3.4 TOCS & VOCs ............................................................................................................ 12 1.3.5 Small particles health effects ....................................................................................... 13 1.3.6 Particulate Studies ........................................................................................................ 14 1.4 Particulate Analysis Review and Presentation .................................................................... 18 1.5 Particle Counters and Gas Measuring Equipment .............................................................. 22 1.5.1 APS (TSI Model 3321) ................................................................................................ 23 1.5.2 APS Diluter (TSI Model 3302A) ................................................................................. 24 1.5.3 Electrostatic Classifier (TSI Model 3080L) ................................................................. 25 1.5.4 CPC (TSI Model 3775) ................................................................................................ 28 1.5.5 SMPS ........................................................................................................................... 29 1.5.6 OPC (Climet Spectro 0.3) ............................................................................................ 30 1.5.7 FTIR ............................................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 2: Bleed Air Simulator (BAS) ......................................................................................... 32 2.1 Note of Health Effects ........................................................................................................ 32 2.2 Experimental Setup ............................................................................................................. 32 2.2.1 Test Procedure and Testing Matrix .............................................................................. 36 2.2.2 Laskin Nozzle Aerosol Generator ................................................................................ 38 iv 2.2.2.1 Expected Mass Input ............................................................................................. 39 2.2.2.2 Measured Mobile Jet II Aerosol Output ............................................................... 41 2.2.2.2.1 Note On Test Legends ................................................................................... 42 2.3 Results and discussion ........................................................................................................ 53 2.3.1 Testing Data (30 Minutes) ........................................................................................... 53 2.3.2 Testing Data (10 Minutes) ........................................................................................... 64 2.4 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter 3: Allison T63-A-700 (C18) Engine ............................................................................... 71 3.1 Experimental Setup ............................................................................................................. 73 3.1.1 Design Modeled after real aircraft ............................................................................... 74 3.1.2 Engine Safety ............................................................................................................... 76 3.1.3 Oil Injection ................................................................................................................. 77 3.1.4 Bleed Air Extraction Line ............................................................................................ 81 3.1.5 Process Control and Monitoring .................................................................................. 86 3.1.5.1.1 Data Extraction .............................................................................................. 86 3.2 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 87 3.2.1 Design and Error Estimations ...................................................................................... 87 3.2.1.1 Losses due to non-isokinetic ................................................................................. 87 3.3 Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................... 91 3.3.1 Notes on data naming ................................................................................................... 91 3.3.2 Notes on FTIR Data ..................................................................................................... 91 3.3.3 Ambient Separation ..................................................................................................... 92 3.3.4 Steady State Decay ...................................................................................................... 98 3.3.4.1 Nozzle Injection Variation of Particle Concentrations ......................................... 98 3.3.4.2 Decay of Oil Film ............................................................................................... 102 3.3.5 Results & Trends ........................................................................................................ 107 3.3.6 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 118 Chapter 4: Comparison Results & Discussion ............................................................................ 120 Chapter 5: Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 124 5.1 Future Work .....................................................................................................................