COLD FUEL TEST RIG TO INVESTIGATE ICE ACCRETION ON DIFFERENT PUMP INLET FILTER-MESH SCREENS

摘要

Feed pumps in aircraft fuel feeding systems deliver fuel from the fuel tanks to the engine frame. These pumps are protected by a weave type filter that stops debris in the tanks from entering the feed lines. The presence of water in jet fuel is unavoidable. Any contaminating water could freeze during long flights at high altitudes and low temperatures. The resulting ice particles and snow clusters could block the filter protecting the pump as fuel is drawn into the pump through the feed line. The process and effects of ice accretion on different mesh screens upstream of a centrifugal pump are being investigated. A suitable test rig has been designed to circulate Jet A-1 containing water/ice contaminants at cold temperatures through the strainers. An effective analysis of the experimental data, will aid to the development of an empirical model that will describe the phenomenon of ice accretion on the mesh.