Session: 01-01: Aero-engine Operation in Harsh Environments

Submission Number: 176516

Flight Operation Effects on Aircraft Engine Dust Ingestion 

Commercial Aviation spans the globe, exposing aircraft and their engines to a multitude of meteorological and atmospheric conditions which deviate from the idealised design conditions. There are many airports globally with environmental conditions which lie outside the standard operating envelope which are classified as non-benign. Regions including the Middle East, Southern China and Northern India are hosts to several non-benign airports due to the presence of mineral dust in the atmosphere. The mineral dust is ingested by the gas turbine engine, leading to component degradation through fouling, erosion and corrosion of the gas path components. These effects are manifest in increased fuel burn and a loss in aerodynamic efficiency, as the engine is operating at off-design conditions.

To predict the damage caused by mineral dust ingestion, the mass of the particulate ingested throughout a flight must be known. Some studies [1], [2] have estimated the mass of dust ingested under the assumption of a constant engine mass flow rate, which is a function of flight phase and particle mass concentration only. Bojdo et al. [3] developed a methodology such that the engine responds to both variations in the aircraft's thrust requirements and the atmospheric conditions, enabling the mass flow rate to be evaluated at each point in the trajectory. The main limitation of the previous approaches is the assumption of a standard flight profile, which does not capture the variability in real-world flight paths.

Within the Middle East, there are a variety of aircraft types (narrowbodies, widebodies), which operate different missions (short-haul, long-haul), which influence the flight profiles. The largest deviations occur in the Terminal Manoeuvre Area (TMA) in the climb and descent phases, primarily driven by air traffic control restrictions [4]. Aircraft may be subjected to speed control, radar vectors (changes in heading) and holding patterns, which force the aircraft to operate at sub-optimal conditions. Identifying the frequency of each procedure will enable the contribution to the total dust mass per flight to be attributed.

For short-haul missions such as Riyadh to Jeddah, both narrow-bodies (A320, B737) and widebodies (A330, B777) are commonly operated. The two aircraft categories have different design points, with the wide-body aircraft operating outside of the design envelope for short-haul operations. Due to the short range, the wide-body aircraft operate at a reduced thrust setting (derated) during the takeoff and climb phase, which reduces engine core temperatures and the mass of dust ingested, as the aircraft is operating below the Restricted Takeoff Weight (RTOW). When comparing the damage incurred by the two different aircraft categories over the short-haul flights, the damage incurred by the two engines is likely to differ due to the contrasting engine operating points. A comprehensive analysis of the short-haul market within the Middle East, which considers the effect of the aircraft's design point and the effect of non-standard flight profiles, is presented. 

To simulate the ingested dust mass, we couple real-world trajectory data obtained from a space-based trajectory provider, alongside a numerical weather reanalysis model, to calculate the engine mass flow rate at each point along the trajectory. The dust mass ingested at each time step can be calculated, and the flight phase at the point of ingestion is also captured. The mission type (nano-haul, short-haul, long-haul) and aircraft type (narrow-body/ wide-body) are then used to analyse the variability in the dust ingested for the differing mission profiles and operational procedures.

References

[1] A. Suman, N. Zanini, and M. Pinelli, “Assessment of Airborne Contaminant Encountered During a
Flight Mission,” doi: 10.1115/GT2023-103417.
[2] C. L. Ryder et al., “Aircraft engine dust ingestion at global airports,” doi: 10.5194/nhess-24-2263-2024.
[3] N. Bojdo, A. Filippone, B. Parkes, and R. Clarkson, “Aircraft engine dust ingestion following sand
storms,” doi: 10.1016/j.ast.2020.106072.
[4] D. Rotherham, N. Bojdo, A. Filippone, and B. Parkes, “Terminal Manoeuvre Area Effects on Aircraft
Engine Dust Ingestion,”doi: 10.3390/ENGPROC2022028011.

Presenting Author: Daniel Rotherham The University of Manchester

Presenting Author Biography: Daniel Rotherham is a PhD Candidate in the School of Engineering at the University of Manchester. In 2023, he graduated from the University of Manchester with a Master of Aerospace Engineering. His doctoral research, entitled "An Aircraft-Engine-Atmosphere Digital Twin for Sustainable Aviation", focuses on the application of real-world flight trajectory data, coupled with atmospheric measurements, to simulate the damage caused by dust ingestion into aero engines. Alongside his doctoral research, he has contributed to a large-scale global aviation emissions project (REVEAL-NOx), a bottom-up high-fidelity aviation emissions inventory.

Authors:

Daniel Rotherham The University of Manchester
Nicholas Bojdo The University of Manchester
Muhammad Aqeel Abdulla The University of Manchester
Antonio Filippone The University of Manchester