A new imaging technique is able to map the CO2 emissions of a jet engine in real time.
Researchers say that the achievement is a world first and that the technique could help in developing new technology to reduce the environmental impact of the aviation industry.
The project involved four different instrumentation teams from across the UK, alongside industrial partners including Rolls-Royce and Siemens.
The group developed an optical mounting frame with a diameter of 7 metres.
The frame was situated just 3 metres away from the exit nozzle of a Rolls-Royce Trent gas engine turbine and 126 beams of near-infrared lights were directed into the emitted gas.
The beams were directed from a range of different angles without disrupting the gas flow and were used to create an image of CO2 emissions given out by the engine.
The data was recorded at frame rates of 1.25 Hz and 0.3125 Hz as the jet engine was taken through its full range of thrust.
Research leader Michael Lengden from the University of Strathclyde explained that the technique, known as chemical species tomography, was able to provide real-time spatially resolved information on CO2 emissions from a large commercial engine for the first time.
Technique called for sophisticated measurement systems
He added that the extremely refined measurement methodology used in the technique required a detailed knowledge of CO2 spectroscopy and electronic systems that can provide very precise data.
The team also had to develop a mathematical method to compute every chemical species image from all 126 of the beams used in the system.
The test images showed that a ring structure of high CO2 concentration was present through all levels of thrust in the engine’s central area.
A raised area in the middle of the plume was also detected, which is believed to be related to the shape of the engine.
Lengden said that the breakthrough represented a major improvement on current methods used in the aviation industry, which involve collecting gas from the exhaust and moving it to an analysis system in another location.
He added that the aviation industry was a major global contributor to CO2 emissions, giving rise to the need for a radical improvement in turbine and fuel technologies.
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