Water In Turbine Fuel

Filter ice
Turbine powered aircraft operate at high altitude where the temperature is
very low. As the fuel in the fuel tanks cools, water in the fuel condenses and
freezes.
It may form ice crystals in the tank or as the fuel/water solution slows and
contacts the cool filter element on its way through fuel filter to the engine.
The formation of ice on the filter element blocks the flow of fuel through the
filter. A valve in the filter unit bypasses unfiltered fuel when this occurs.
Fuel heaters are used to warm the fuel so that ice does not form. These heat
exchanger units also heat the fuel sufficiently to melt any ice that has already
formed.
The most common types of fuel heaters are air/fuel heaters and oil/fuel
heaters. An air/fuel heater uses warm compressor bleed air to heat the fuel.
An oil/fuel exchanger heats the fuel with hot engine oil. This latter type is
often referred to as a Fuel-Cooled Oil Cooler (FCOC).
Carburetor icing
When airplanes fly in cooler air, they may encounter icing problems. From
the perspective of engine operation, there are three possibilities for ice
accumulation: Carburetor icing, Throttle icing and Induction icing
Ideal Gas Equation of State: PV = nRT
Where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the gas quantity, R is the ideal
gas constant, and T is the temperature. When V, n and R remain unchanged,
the pressure P at the throat of the venturi decreases, and the temperature T
also decreases. Therefore, even if the outside air temperature is above the
freezing point, it may drop below 0°C when flowing through the venturi,
causing the water in the air and fuel to freeze.
It can be seen that moisture will accumulate behind the throat and form a
thick layer of ice on the pipe wall, greatly preventing the fuel/air mixture
from entering the engine. In addition to the temperature drop caused by the
drop in air pressure, the fuel itself has a high specific heat capacity and can
extract a large amount of heat energy from the air during evaporation, causing
the temperature to drop further. The most difficult step in the icing process is
to initially form a layer of ice crystals on the inner wall. Once successful, the
accumulation speed will become faster and faster, and the diameter of the
throat will become narrower and narrower until the mixture is not enough to
allow the engine to continue burning .
Prevention/Solution method
Increase the power occasionally:
In a long descent, you may want to level off for a time and increase the
power. A good tip is to cycle the carburetor heat while you do this to ensure
that there is no ice before continuing on your way down.

Fuel anti-ice additive

Fuel system icing inhibitor(FSII) is an additive to aviation fuels.
FSII is an agent that is mixed with jet fuel as it is pumped into the aircraft.
As aircraft climbs after takeoff, the temperature drops, and any dissolved
water will separate out from the fuel. FSII dissolves itself in water
preferentially over the jet fuel, where it then serves to depress the freezing
point of water to -43 °C. Since the freezing point of jet fuel itself is usually in
this region, the formation of ice is now a minimal concern.

Carburetor Heat:
Most engines can combat this problem by turning on carburetor heat. The
pilot can use a handle to switch the source of air entering the carburetor:
direct flow from outside the aircraft through the air inlet, or use warm air
flowing through the exhaust pipe heater. The pilot will choose between the
two based on the outside temperature gauge.

Fuel injection:
Direct injection into the fuel cylinder. Simply put, it uses pressure to inject
fuel into the air inlet of each cylinder. At the moment when the cylinder
inhales, the fuel is mixed with air. Because each cylinder has an independent
fuel injector supplying fuel, and it is located next to the cylinder, all cylinders
receive the same fuel, very evenly.
Each fuel nozzle is controlled by a solenoid, which opens when powered on
to allow pressurized fuel to be sprayed out as a fine mist from the spray tip.
The length of time the power is applied determines the amount of fuel
injected, while the frequency and timing control the speed of the entire
engine, all of which are controlled electronically. New engines equipped with
electronic Engine Control Units (ECU) can even use sensors to detect the
combustion status of each cylinder, and then independently fine-tune the
amount and timing of injection to accurately maintain the optimal fuel of
1:14: Air mixing ratio.
The most important point of the entire fuel cylinder direct injection system is
to maintain the pressure of the fuel, otherwise it will not be sprayed out in a
fine mist form from the fuel nozzle. Therefore, the aircraft used must have a
mechanical (engine-driven) and an auxiliary (electric) fuel pump.
Normally, it mainly relies on the engine fuel pump. During important
moments such as takeoff, landing and starting, the auxiliary fuel pump is
turned on at the same time as a backup. The pressurized fuel will flow into
the fuel-air control unit. According to the pilot's throttle and mixture ratio
settings, the Metering Valve is used to accurately measure the amount of fuel
to be sent to the engine, and is pumped through the pipeline to the Fuel
Manifold , and then distribute it evenly to each cylinder.
Similar to a carburetor, the air required for combustion is controlled by the
throttle valve, but there is another pipe sent to each cylinder, and it is mixed
with fuel just before entering. This is the biggest difference from a carburetor.
 Microbial Contamination in Aircraft Fuel System
Moisture in aircraft fuel mainly comes from three sources:
(1) There is a small amount of free water and water dissolved in the fuel in
the aircraft fuel itself. When the temperature decreases, the water dissolved in
the fuel will be precipitated and deposited at the bottom of the fuel tank.
(2) Rainwater or moisture in the atmosphere mixed in during the production,
transportation, storage and daily maintenance and inspection of aircraft fuel,
etc.
(3) The temperature changes greatly during the day and night when the
aircraft is parked, and the temperature changes even more when flying at high
and low altitudes during use, causing condensation in the fuel tank and
condensation water in the aircraft fuel tank.
The speed of microbial growth is related to factors such as fuel temperature,
water content and distribution in the fuel, fuel volume, and the relative
humidity of the air in the fuel tank. Therefore, microorganisms in aviation
fuel storage tanks and aircraft fuel tanks mainly grow at the interface between
fuel and water.
As moisture accumulates in the tank, the risk of microbial growth increases
significantly. The speed of microbial growth is related to factors such as fuel
temperature, water content and distribution in the fuel, fuel volume, and the
relative humidity of the air in the fuel tank. Therefore, microorganisms in
aviation fuel storage tanks and aircraft fuel tanks mainly grow at the interface
between fuel and water.
Microorganisms feed on hydrocarbons in fuel, and their metabolites can form
paste-like substances, active substances and suspended substances. As jet fuel
is distributed and used by aircraft, disturbance in the fuel tank can cause
microorganisms to be suspended in the fuel, resulting in complete tank
contamination.

Microbial contamination of aircraft fuel tanks and fuel systems can lead to a
series of problems in aircraft operation, including:
1) Blockage. The metabolites of microorganisms will form colloidal
sediments or suspended solids, which will clog the aircraft fuel filter; they
will accumulate in the fuel injector, causing clogging of the fuel injector; and
the sediment will cause clogging of the fuel discharge hole. This in turn
causes the failure of other instruments and control components.

2) Corrosion. Microorganisms can destroy the coating and seal of the fuel
tank, adhere to the coating and use it as nutrients to grow and reproduce and
corrode the coating, thereby corroding the aluminum alloy fuel tank, which
may lead to oil leakage accidents.

3) Microbial contamination causing aircraft failure to operate normally,

unplanned parking and other related problems (such as emergency orders for
aviation materials) and increased fuel consumption due to fluctuations in fuel
measurement will inevitably bring considerable consequences to airlines.
Economic losses

Commonly used detection methods for microbial contamination in aircraft

fuel systems include
(1) Culturing method
(2) Indirect detection method
(3) Equipment detection methods, such as HY-LITE Jet2 , Micob Monitorc 2,
FuelStat TM(次方) Resinae

In accordance with the requirements of the aircraft maintenance plan

document (MPD), the aircraft fuel tank is regularly drained through the drain
valve, and the draining cycle should be adjusted accordingly according to the
specific environment in which the aircraft operates. In order to determine the
best time interval for water release, the following factors should be
considered: the length of the flight; the height of the flight; the climate of the
country you fly over/to; the level of aircraft utilization, etc. When the flight
range is short, the flight altitude is low, the aircraft is flying over/to warm and
humid countries and regions, the aircraft utilization rate is low, or mild
microbial contamination has been detected, the water discharge interval
should be appropriately shortened.
Detection process of microbes in aircraft fuel systems.