Development and qualification of a specialized gas turbine test stand to research the potential benefits of nanocatalyst fuel additives

Abstract

Due to the wide use of gas turbine engines, any performance improvements would yield significant impacts to many military and civilian programs. While hardware upgrades require costly replacements to existing equipment, fuel performance enhancement could provide a near term cost effective solution. This thesis research focused on the development and qualification of a suitable test stand system to provide bench testing of nanocatalyst additives for jet fuels on a fullscale tactical gas turbine engine. A Williams International F-121 fanjet engine was acquired and set up as the centerpiece component for the desired test stand. The required auxiliary systems and sensor equipment were designed and constructed. Initial baseline performance of the test stand and F-121 engine were demonstrated. These included the ability to determine lean ignition limits, capability to perform on-the-fly switching of fuel supply during engine operation, and capability of dynamically performing lean flame-out tests.