Tests with biojetfuels in Microturbo TRI-60 jet engine
Publish date: 2021-07-01
Report number: FOI-R--5101--SE
Pages: 35
Written in: Swedish
Keywords:
- Biofuels
- propulsion
- reneweble energy
- sustainability
Abstract
During the first part of 2020, a study of the performance and combustion of two different biofuels and three reference fuels was carried out with the turbojet engine Microturbo TRI-60. The fuels included in the study are JP5, Jet A1, JP10, ARA - CHCJ-5 and Swedish Biofuels - BIOJET 100 ATJ-SKA, of which the last two are biofuels. Further on, this is a qualitative study with the purpose to compare the different fuels with respect to performance, soot formation, combustion dynamics and thermoacoustics. In terms of performance, the BIOJET 100 ATJ-SKA shows a 2.7% lower specific fuel consumption (SFC) than the reference fuel Jet A1. Also the turbine outlet temperature, infra-red (IR) signature and soot content is comparatively low for BIOJET 100 ATJSKA, whose levels are lower or close to the corresponding of JP5, for which the injection nozzles are designed. In the other end, JP10 shows a 2.8 % higher SFC and orders of magnitude higher values regarding IR-signature and soot content. For the other fuels the disparity is varying and less but observable. Any significant differences in combustion dynamics or thermoacoustic instabilities cannot be observed at the operational points for which the study is performed. Whether this as well as the size of the soot particles are affected by an optimization of the engine for a new fuel requires further and deeper studies.