Environmentally friendly powerplant could slash nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80%
A demonstrator engine designed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80% and carbon dioxide output and fuel consumption by one-fifth is to undergo testing at Stuttgart University in Germany next month. The work is being carried out under the European Union Fifth Framework research programme.
The Component Validator for Environmentally Friendly Aero Engine - also known as Clean - uses a compressor with software-controlled variable guide vanes. The combustor features adaptable fuel flow and injection for burning zone control, and a heat exchanger preheats air leaving the compressor.
Firms taking part in Clean are: combustor designer Avio; Snecma, which developed the core engine; Volvo Aero, which assembled the engine in July; and MTU Aero Engines, which fitted the demonstrator engine's instrumentation.
"With this demonstrator, we will prove that oxides of nitrogen emissions can be reduced by as much as 80%, carbon dioxide emissions by 20% and fuel consumption by 20%," says Dr Gnter Wilfert, Clean programme manager at German manufacturer MTU Aero Engines.
The compressor's efficiency is boosted by the use of sensors attached to the engine casing that were developed under a Fourth Framework research project. These provide feedback to control the variable guide vanes and optimise performance. The computer control also allows one or two rows of vanes to be removed, saving weight. Another improvement is the 15-20% energy saving expected from the heat exchanger. This heats air leaving the compressor by 150-200¡C (300-390¡F), using energy from the exhaust, before sending it into the combustion chamber. The heat exchanger's weight will have to be reduced, however.
The consortium foresees engines with Clean's predicted characteristics entering service by 2020. The research work could become a sixth framework project, proposals for which are now being considered by the European Commission.
ROB COPPINGER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
