Laser-Induced Incandescence Sensor for Soot Particle Size and Concentration

An instrument will be developed to measure the mass concentration and particle size of non-volatile particulate (nvPM) emissions exiting a nozzle into an altitude chamber for contrail condensation studies at NASA’s PAL and other facilities, with a potential future transition to onboard instrumentation for flight studies. Experimental studies will be conducted to optimize laser-induced incandescence for aircraft nvPM conditions at the 12-inch standoff distance required for the PAL facility, allowing it to be used for characterizing particles entering the chamber in situ, i.e., in their natural state. An existing numerical model will be improved to include relevant effects that will enable accurate interpretation of data from the in situ measurements. A calibration method for non-volatile soot mass and particle size will be developed that will anchor the method to accepted best practices and a detailed Phase II prototype design will be developed. Such measurements are needed to help determine which sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) have the lowest sooting propensities, and thus would produce minimal contrails, which can trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. The proposed work directly addresses the objective of achieving cleaner, faster, and safer air travel in ways that minimize adverse impacts on the environment called out in NASA’s ARMD 2023 Strategic Implementation Plan. A significant market opportunity exists in research groups worldwide, including universities, government agencies, engine manufacturers, and industrial settings. A calibrated and validated in situ soot property diagnostic could replace extractive instruments in many applications, such as those concerning environmental control regulations for aircraft engine manufacturers, commercial airlines, industrial processing plants (i.e., stack monitors), commercial trucks, and automobiles.

The proposed work directly addresses an objective called out in NASA’s ARMD 2023 Strategic Implementation Plan: that of achieving cleaner, faster, and safer air travel in ways that minimize adverse impacts on the environment. The instrument to be developed would help the country to meet its goal of achieving net-zero aviation carbon emissions by 2050 by providing critical measurements of engine particulates in their natural state that are needed to identify optimal sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). SAFs don’t release new CO2 into the environment and therefore they are considered essential to meeting this goal. An optimal SAF would produce minimal contrails, which can trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. NASA works toward achieving optimal SAFs by a combination of computational modeling, emissions and combustion laboratory testing, and flight testing. The proposed advanced diagnostic is needed to improve our understanding of the soot formation process and to help characterize new fuel formulations for their propensities to form soot. With today’s heightened interest in understanding the sources of greenhouse effect contributors, a significant market opportunity exists for an instrument that can measure soot particle properties in-situ, i.e., in their natural state. Essentially all practical combustion systems produce soot and existing methods to quantify and regulate these emissions often involve extractive sampling probes, which are subject to error due to sampling line losses and chemical reactions. A device that can accurately measure soot mass concentration and particle size at the location where it is emitted would enable better characterization of particulate matter (PM) sources and should find use in research groups worldwide, including universities, government agencies, engine manufacturers, and industrial settings. A calibrated and validated in situ soot property diagnostic would have a significant advantage over extractive devices on the market today, which tend to be complex and difficult to use, potentially replacing condensation nuclei counters and centrifugal mass analyzers in many applications. The largest commercial markets for the proposed LII sensor are those dealing with meeting environmental control regulations. Present markets that will be targeted include aircraft engine manufacturers, commercial airlines, industrial processing plants (i.e., stack monitors), commercial trucks, and automobiles.

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