Experimental Methodology and Facility for the J69-Engine Performance and Emissions Evaluation Using Jet A1 and Biodiesel Blends

Aeronautic transport is a leading energy consumer that strongly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions due to a significant dependency on fossil fuels. Biodiesel, a substitution of conventional fuels, is considered as an alternative fuel for aircrafts and power generation turbine engines. Unfortunately, experimentation has been mostly limited to small scale turbines, and technical challenges remain open regarding operational safety. The current study presents the facility, the instrumentation, and the measured results of experimental tests in a 640 kW full-scale J69-T-25A turbojet engine, operating with blends of Jet A1 and oil palm biodiesel with volume contents from 0% to 10% at different load regimes. Findings are related to the fuel injection system, the engine thrust, and the emissions. The thrust force and the exhaust gas temperature do not expose a significant variation in all the operation regimes with the utilization of up to 10% volume content of biodiesel. A maximum increase of 36% in fuel consumption and 11% in injection pressure are observed at idle operation between B0 and B10. A reduction of the CO and HC emissions is also registered with a maximum variation at the cruise regime (80% Revolutions Per Minute-RPM).