Volcano impact on the gas turbine engines operation

The paper analyzes the main mechanisms of the volcanic ash impact on various types of aviation gas turbine engines. The results of engineering tests of the operation of two-circuit gas turbine engines PW F100 under the influence of volcanic ash are presented. The impact of volcanic ash on the Rolls-Royce RB211-524D4 and General Electric CF6-80C2 engines of Boeing 747 aircraft when all aircraft engines were shut down in flight is considered. The main engine damages are: abrasive-erosive depreciation of compressor blades; formation and accumulation of deposits of melted ash particles on combustion chamber elements and high-pressure turbine blades. It is confirmed that the most critical consequence of the impact of volcanic ash on a gas turbine engine is the formation and accumulation of vitreous deposits on the blades of the nozzle apparatus of the first stage of the turbine. The foreign materials presented in open sources are compared with the results of certification tests of the PD-14 gas turbine engine for resistance to volcanic ash. Further research directions have been identified as development of a model for the accumulation of ash material deposits on the first nozzle blades of a gas turbine, as well as modeling of generation zones (volumes) of the liquid phase of volcanic ash in the combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine at different engine operating modes, taking into account the temperature parameters of ash particles. The presented research is performed under the leadership of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.A. Inozemtsev.