The aviation industry has now connected a number of engine power-loss events to the ingestion of atmospheric ice crystals. Ice crystals are believed to penetrate to and eventually accrete on surfaces in the engine core where local air temperatures are warmer than freezing. Research aimed at understanding the accretion and shedding of ice crystals within the engine is being conducted industrywide. Although this specific icing condition is readily produced inside an operating engine, rig testing is the preferred research tool because it has the advantage of good visibility of the ice accretion process and easy access for video documentation. This paper presents one of the first efforts to simulate the warm air/cold ice conditions occurring inside the engine core using a test rig. The test section contains geometry simulating the transition duct between the low and high compressors in a typical jet engine and an airfoil simulating the engine strut connecting the inner and outer surfaces. Test results showed ice formed on the airfoil and other surfaces in the test section at air temperatures warmer than freezing. However, when both the air and surface temperatures were held below freezing, the injected ice did not melt and no ice accretion was observed. Ice only formed on the airfoil when mixed-phase conditions (liquid and ice) were produced, by introducing the ice into a warm airflow. This test concludes that a rig-level ice crystal icing test is feasible and capable of producing ice accretion in a simulated engine environment. As it was the first test of its kind, reporting of these preliminary test results are expected to benefit future experimenters.
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April 2011
Research Papers
Understanding Ice Crystal Accretion and Shedding Phenomenon in Jet Engines Using a Rig Test
Jeanne G. Mason,
Jeanne G. Mason
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
, Seattle, WA 98101
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Philip Chow,
Philip Chow
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
, Seattle, WA 98101
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Dan M. Fuleki
Dan M. Fuleki
Gas Turbine Laboratory, Institute for Aerospace Research,
National Research Council Canada
, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6, Canada
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Jeanne G. Mason
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
, Seattle, WA 98101
Philip Chow
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
, Seattle, WA 98101
Dan M. Fuleki
Gas Turbine Laboratory, Institute for Aerospace Research,
National Research Council Canada
, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6, CanadaJ. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Apr 2011, 133(4): 041201 (8 pages)
Published Online: November 19, 2010
Article history
Received:
April 19, 2010
Revised:
May 10, 2010
Online:
November 19, 2010
Published:
November 19, 2010
Citation
Mason, J. G., Chow, P., and Fuleki, D. M. (November 19, 2010). "Understanding Ice Crystal Accretion and Shedding Phenomenon in Jet Engines Using a Rig Test." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. April 2011; 133(4): 041201. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4002020
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