Experimental Investigation and Assessment of Combustion Instability and Engine Vibrations; as an Impact of Using Novel Alternative Fuels with Low Aromatics in a Gas Turbine Engine

Abstract

This investigation centres upon the investigation of vibrations characteristics of a low aromatic HEFA fuel when compared to standard Jet A1. Both the pure HEFA fuel and pure Jet A1 were tested as well as 10 blends of different percentages of the two fuels were tested. The experiments were conducted on a small gas turbine engine at the Low Carbon Combustion Centre of the University of Sheffield. The vibrational analysis suggests that aromatic compounds in the fuel composition may affect the instability characteristics of a given fuel. It was found that the pure alternative fuel has markedly higher vibrations when compared to blends of the alternative with Jet A1 and pure Jet A1 as well. This relationship was not proportional in the blends. Suggesting that a particular compound in the Jet A1 has a disproportionate impact on increased combustion stability.