| An experimental apparatus was designed and built to study the thermal autoxidative carbon deposition, or coking, in the fuel injection nozzles of small gas turbine engines. The apparatus is a simplified representation of an aircraft fuel system, consisting of a preheating section and a test section, which is a passage that simulates the geometry, temperatures, pressures and flow rates seen by the fuel injection nozzles. Preliminary experiments were performed to verify the functionality of the apparatus. Pressure drop across the test section was measured throughout the experiments to monitor deposit buildup, and an effective reduction in test section diameter due to deposit blockage was calculated. The preliminary experiments showed that the pressure drop increased more significantly for higher test section temperatures, and that pressure drop measurement is an effective method of monitoring and quantifying deposit buildup. |
