Combustion and spray test research facilities

The NRC Aerospace Research Centre has a multitude of Combustion and spray test facilities to support the research, testing and validation of low-emissions, fuel-flexible combustion systems, as well as fuel spray nozzles and injectors at realistic high-pressure conditions.

High-pressure combustion test cells
  Maximum Capacity Instrumentation
Air flowrate Air pressure,
absolute
Rig air temperature Natural gas Liquid fuels (Jet A-1, Diesel, other)
TC 1 21.5 kg/s
(47.5 lb/s)
2170 kPA
(315 psi)
922 K
(1200 °F)
0.68 kg/s
(1.5 lb/s)
0.77 kg/s
(1.7 lb/s)
Pressure sensors, thermocouples, strain gauges, noise, flow meters, Emission analyzers
TC 2 24 kg/s
(53 lb/s)
2170 kPA
(315 psi)
922 K
(1200 °F)
0.68 kg/s
(1.5 lb/s)
1.36 kg/s
(3.0 lb/s)
Pressure sensors, thermocouples, strain gauges, noise, flow meters, Emission analyzers
TC 3 6.4 kg/s
(14 lb/s)
1930 kPA
(280 psi)
922 K
(1200 °F)
0.34 kg/s
(0.75 lb/s)
0.25 kg/s
(0.57 lb/s)
Pressure sensors, thermocouples, strain gauges, noise, flow meters, Emission analyzers

TC 1

TC 3

Specialized spray facilities
  Capacity Fuels Other
Fuel flowrate Rig pressure,
absolute
Air flow rate Fuel temperature
High pressure spray facility (HPSF) 205 kg/hr
(452 lb/hr)
2068 kPa
(300 psi)
4.5 kg/s
(10 lb/s)
Ambient Mil-C See Non-intrusive optical diagnostics below
Atmospheric pressure spray facility (APSF) 68 kg/hr
(150 lb/hr)
Ambient 0.23 kg/s
(0.5 lb/s)
Ambient Mil-C
Optically accessible single injector system (OASIS) facility 68 kg/hr
(150 lb/hr)
1034 kPa
(150 psi)
0.14 kg/s
(0.3 lb/s)
588 K
(599 °F)
Jet-A, Diesel and various biofuels

High-Pressure Spray Facility (HPSF)

Optically Accessible Single Injector System (OASIS) Facility

Low-pressure Optically-Accessible Combustion Rig (LOACR)
Capacity Notes
Air flow rate Air pressure NG flow rate
18 lb/min 120 psi 2 lb/min High temperature air will be available in 2014/15.

Low-pressure Optically-Accessible Combustion Rig (LOACR)

Optically Accessible Combustion Rig (OACR)

High-pressure Optically Accessible Combustion Rig modular construction facilities housing a variety of combustion hardware with diameter up to 45 cm (18 inch) and length up to 120 cm (47 inch). Five-way optical access is suitable to cater to any state-of-the-art laser based combustion and fuel diagnostics.

  Capacity Fuels
Air flow rate Rig pressure,
absolute
Air temperature
Main air 14.5 kg/s
(32 lb/s)
2068 kPa
(300 psi)
922 K
(1200 °F)
Designed for various liquid and gaseous fuels
Cooling air 6.6 kg/s
(14 lb/s)
2068 kPa
(300 psi)
Ambient

High-pressure optically accessible combustion rig (OACR)

Emissions control and measurement

Online equipment to analyze exhaust gases including O2, CO2, CO, NOx and unburned hydrocarbons

Emission System
Species Analyzer Potential Ranges Instrument Specification for Repeatability
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Rosemount Analytical NGA 2000 NDIR min: 0-100 ppm;
max: 0-3000 ppm
+/- 1% FS
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Rosemount Analytical MLT ULCO NDIR min: 0-10 ppm;
max: 0-2500 ppm
+/- 1% FS
(for ranges > 20 ppm)
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Rosemount Analytical 880A NDIR min: 0-1%;
max: 0-12%
+/- 1% FS
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Rosemount Analytical NGA 2000 NDIR min: 0-2%;
max: 0-20%
+/- 1% FS
Oxygen (O2) Rosemount Analytical NGA 2000 Paramagnetic min: 0-1%;
max: 0-25%
+/- 1% FS
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Rosemount Analytical NGA 2000 WCLD min: 0-10 ppm;
max: 0-1000 ppm
+/- 0.5% FS
Unburned Hydrocarbons (UHC) Rosemount Analytical NGA 2000 HFID min: 0-10 ppm;
max: 0-10000 ppm
+/- 1% FS
Non-intrusive optical diagnostics

Laser Sheet Dropsizing (LSD) using ND:YAG lasers in the UV wavelength.

  • Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) for quantitative planar measurement of fuel fraction using acetone as a marker.
  • Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) for planar 2D and 3D velocity measurements
  • Laser Sheet Dropsizing (LSD) for planar droplet visualization and sizing
  • Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer for spatially resolved measurements of drop diameter (0.5 to 800 μm) and particle velocity (to 1,000 m/s, 2D correlated)
  • Malvern Laser Diffraction Particle Analyzer for spray particles and droplet size distribution measurement in real-time (0.1 to 2000 microns)
 

Other measurement capabilities

Available experimental techniques include temperature and multi-hole pressure probe measurements; multi-wire, hot-wire, and surface-mounted hot-film measurements; schlieren flow visualization; 2D and 3D particle image velocimetry; PDPA; PLIF; surface temperature measurement with liquid crystals; and surface pressure measurement with pressure sensitive paint. Data acquisition and control systems are developed in-house.

Full instrumentation for measuring and recording gas and liquid temperatures, pressures and flow rates, wall temperatures, and combustor exit gas temperatures and gas composition profiles, using water-cooled rakes.

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