[Research and workshop on alternative fuels for aviation. Final report]

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/762934· OSTI ID:762934

The Renewable Aviation Fuels Development Center (RAFDC) at Baylor University was granted U. S. Department of Energy (US DOE) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funds for research and development to improve the efficiency in ethanol powered aircraft, measure performance and compare emissions of ethanol, Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) and 100 LL aviation gasoline. The premise of the initial proposal was to use a test stand owned by Engine Components Inc. (ECI) based in San Antonio, Texas. After the grant was awarded, ECI decided to close down its test stand facility. Since there were no other test stands available at that time, RAFDC was forced to find additional support to build its own test stand. Baylor University provided initial funds for the test stand building. Other obstacles had to be overcome in order to initiate the program. The price of the emission testing equipment had increased substantially beyond the initial quote. Rosemount Analytical Inc. gave RAFDC an estimate of $120,000.00 for a basic emission testing package. RAFDC had to find additional funding to purchase this equipment. The electronic ignition unit also presented a series of time consuming problems. Since at that time there were no off-the-shelf units of this type available, one had to be specially ordered and developed. FAA funds were used to purchase a Super Flow dynamometer. Due to the many unforeseen obstacles, much more time and effort than originally anticipated had to be dedicated to the project, with much of the work done on a volunteer basis. Many people contributed their time to the program. One person, mainly responsible for the initial design of the test stand, was a retired engineer from Allison with extensive aircraft engine test stand experience. Also, many Baylor students volunteered to assemble the. test stand and continue to be involved in the current test program. Although the program presented many challenges, which resulted in delays, the RAFDC's test stand is an asset which provides an ongoing research capability dedicated to the testing of alternative fuels for aircraft engines. The test stand is now entirely functional with the exception of the electronic ignition unit which still needs adjustments.

• Research Organization: Baylor University, Renewable Aviation Fuels Development Center (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE) (US)
• DOE Contract Number: FG36-95GO10088
• OSTI ID: 762934
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO/10088-F
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
09 BIOMASS FUELS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
AIRCRAFT
BUTYL ETHER
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
ENGINEERS
ENGINES
ETHANOL
FUNCTIONALS
GASOLINE
IGNITION
PERFORMANCE
PRICES
TESTING
US FAA