This paper reports the results of a series of online water wash tests of a GE J85-13 jet engine at the test facilities of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The engine performance was deteriorated by injecting atomized saltwater at the engine inlet. The engine was then online washed with water injected at three different droplet sizes (25, 75, and 200μm⁠) and at water-to-air ratios ranging from 0.4% to 3% by mass. Engine performance was measured using standard on-engine instrumentation. Extra temperature and pressure sensors in the compressor section provided additional information of the propagation of deposits in the aft stages. The measurements were supported by visual observations. The overall engine performance improved rapidly with online wash. The buildup of deposits in the aft stages was influenced both by the droplet size and the water-to-air ratio. The water-to-air ratio was the most important parameter to achieve effective online washing.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
jet engines, aerospace testing, aircraft maintenance, aerospace test facilities, cleaning, compressor cleaning, axial compressor, stage characteristics, GE J85-13
Topics:
Compressors, Jet engines, Test facilities, Water, Engines, Aerospace industry, Drops, Air Force, Aircraft, Instrumentation, Maintenance, Pressure sensors, Temperature, Testing
1.
Stalder
J.-P.
,
2001
, “
Gas Turbine Compressor Washing State of the Art: Field Experiences
,”
ASME J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power
,
123
, pp.
363
–
370
.
2.
Mund
F.
, and
Pilidis
P.
,
2004
, “A Review of Online Washing Systems,” ASME Paper No. GT2004–53224.
3.
Asplund
P.
,
1997
, “
Gas Turbine Cleaning Upgrade (Compressor Wash)
,” ASME Paper No. 97-AA-135.
4.
Asplund
P.
, and
Hjerpe
C. J.
,
2004
, “
A Method for Cleaning a Stationary Gas Turbine Unit During Operation
,” World Patent No. WO2004/055334.
5.
Faddegon
C. J.
,
1999
, “
Effective Compressor Cleaning as a Result of Scientific Testing and Field Experience
,” FP Turbomachinery Consultants GmbH, Spinzalaan 177-C, 2273 XG Voorburg, The Netherlands.
6.
Marchik
A.
,
1965
, “
Motion of Condensed Phase in the Blade Passages of an Axial Gas Turbine Stage
,” Teploenergetika, pp.
51
–
57
.
7.
Tsuchiya
T.
, and
Murthy
S. N. B.
,
1982
, “
Water Ingestion Into Jet Engine Axial Compressors
,” AIAA Paper No. 82–0196.
8.
Horlock
J. H.
,
2001
, “Compressor Performance With Water Injection,” Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2001, June 4–7, New Orleans, LA.
9.
Young
J. B.
,
1995
, “
The Fundamental Equations of Gas-Droplet Multiphase Flow
,”
Int. J. Multiphase Flow
,
21
(
2
), pp.
175
–
191
.
10.
Meacock
A. J.
, and
White
A. J.
,
2006
, “The Effect of Water Injection on Multispool Gas Turbine Behavior,” ASME Paper No. GT2004–53320.
11.
Garwood
K. R.
,
1995
, “
Recommended Practices for the Assessment of the Effects of Atmospheric Water Ingestion on the Performance and Operability of Gas Turbine Engines
,” AGARD Advisory Report AGARD AR-332.
12.
Syverud
E.
,
Brekke
O.
, and
Bakken
L. E.
,
2007
, “
Axial Compressor Deterioration Caused by Saltwater Ingestion
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
129
(
1
), pp.
119
–
126
.
13.
Tesch
W. A.
, and
Steenken
W. G.
,
1976
, “
Blade Row Dynamic Digital Compressor Program Volume 1 J85 Clean Inlet Flow and Parallel Compressor Models
,” NASA CR-134978.
14.
Milner
E. J.
, and
Wenzel
L. M.
,
1975
, “
Performance of a J85–13 Compressor With Clean and Distorted Inlet Flow
,” NASA TM X-3304.
15.
Saravanamuttoo
H. I. H.
, ed.,
1990
, “
Recommended Practices for Measurement of Gas Path Pressures and Temperatures for Performance Assessment of Aircraft Turbine Engines and Components
,” AGARD Advisory Report AGARD AR-245.
16.
ASME,
1997
,
Performance Test Code on Gas Turbines
, ASME PTC-22, ASME, New York.
17.
ASME,
1998
, “
Test Uncertainty
,” ASME PTC-19.1, ASME, New York.
18.
Caguiat
D. E.
,
Zipkin
D. M.
, and
Patterson
J. S.
,
2002
, “Compressor Fouling Testing on Rolls Royce/Allison 501-K17 and General Electric LM 2500 Gas Turbine Engines,” ASME Paper No. GT2002–30262.
19.
ASTM Standard E 799–92,
1992
, “
Standard Practice for Determining Data Criteria and Processing for Liquid Drop Size Analysis
,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.
This content is only available via PDF.
Copyright © 2007
 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
You do not currently have access to this content.