A heavily instrumented NASA HU-25 Guardian measures
chemical components from the larger DC-8's exhaust generated by a 50/50 mix of
conventional jet fuel and a plant-derived biofuel, demonstrating the type of
work that will be done during ACCESS II flights.
NASA has signed separate agreements with the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to conduct a series of joint
flight tests to study the atmospheric effects of emissions from jet engines
burning alternative fuels.
The Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions (ACCESS II)
flights are set to begin May 7 and will be flown from NASA's Armstrong Flight
Research Center in Edwards, Calif.
"Partnering with our German and Canadian colleagues allows us to combine our
expertise and resources as we work together to solve the challenges common to
the global aviation community such as understanding emission characteristics
from the use of alternative fuels which presents a great potential for
significant reductions in harmful emissions," said Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate
administrator for aeronautics research.
NASA's DC-8 and HU-25C Guardian, DLR's Falcon 20-E5, and NRC's CT-133
research aircraft will conduct flight tests in which the DC-8's engines will
burn a mix of different fuel blends, while the Falcon and CT-133 measure
emissions and observe contrail formation.
The Dassault Falcon 20E has been extensively
modified by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und
Raumfahrt, or DLR) for the kind of atmospheric research it will conduct as part
of ACCESS II.
Image Credit: Research Center for Marine
Geosciences/DLR
“Cooperation
between DLR and NASA is based on a strong mutual appreciation of our research
work,” said Rolf Henke, the DLR Executive Board member responsible for
aeronautics research. “We are very pleased to be performing joint test flights
for the first time, and thus set an example by addressing pressing research
questions in global aviation together.”
ACCESS II is the latest in a series of ground and flight tests begun in 2009
to study emissions and contrail formation from new blends of aviation fuels that
include biofuel from renewable sources. ACCESS-I testing, conducted in 2013,
indicated the biofuel blends tested may substantially reduce emissions of black
carbon, sulfates, and organics. ACCESS II will gather additional data, with an
emphasis on studying contrail formation.
Understanding the impacts of alternative fuel use in aviation could enable
widespread use of one or more substitutes to fossil fuels as these new fuels
become more readily available and cost competitive with conventional jet
fuels.
Within NASA, ACCESS II is a multi-center project involving researchers at
Armstrong, NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and the agency's
Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. This research supports the strategic vision
of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, part of which is to enable
the transition of the aviation industry to alternative fuels and low-carbon
propulsion systems.
As part of an international team involved in this research, NASA will share
its findings with the 24 member nations that make up the International Forum for
Aviation Research (IFAR). DLR and NRC are participating members of IFAR and
NASA is the current Chair.
For more information about aeronautics research at NASA, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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