Volcanic ash and its impact on aero engine performance

David Rickerby, Rolls-Royce plc

Venue: BAWA Filton

Wednesday November 30, 2011 at 19:30

Although the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull (Iceland) brought into focus how volcanic activity can disrupt air traffic and affect everyday life, volcanic eruptions are an inevitable risk to aviation. This talk reviews the types of volcanic eruptions (Hawaiian through to vulcanian) and their influence on air travel over the last 40 years. The presence of solid particles in the air has a number of impacts on aircraft operability from simple abrasion and erosion to deposition onto the hot surfaces of turbine components. The behaviour of volcanic ash will be contrasted with that of other natural threats such as desert sand and calcium magnesium alumina-silicates (CMAS) deposits. The talk will review the mitigation strategies adopted by the aerospace industry to minimize the impact of volcanic ash on operations, including the ability to predict the particle dispersions over the lifetime of a volcanic eruption.

The talk will be followed by a discussion and buffet.

Members and non-members are welcome.