Aero-Gasturbine Emission Reduction and Simulation Technology: Philosophy and Approach

Aircraft engine technology has gained major advances in the past 40–50 years, steadily bringing significant gains in the reduction of exhaust emissions at the source. However, with the projected increase in air traffic, the cumulative amount of aircraft emissions will still increase. This maintains the need for further progress in developing analytical methods to predict the amount and composition of exhaust gases from aircraft engines to better assess the alternatives for reducing emissions and better inform decision-makers, manufacturers and operators. The Research Project “Aero-Gasturbine Emission Reduction and Simulation Technology”, started at the Delft University of Technology in collaboration with the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) and the Netherlands Ministry of Traffic, is aimed to contribute to the efforts to solve the problem. With the limitations, complexity and costs of emission measurements at operational conditions, the ability to predict engine exhaust emissions by means of analytical tools becomes more urgent for minimizing aircraft engine exhaust gas emissions. This paper presents a philosophy and approach to develop such tools.