Increasing commercial and military aircraft operations in arid environments are increasing the likelihood of sand and dust ingestion. Turbine engines are particularly susceptible to the ingestion of sand and dust, which can erode cold-section components and deposit onto hot-section components. Ultimately, the erosion and deposits will shorten the operational lifespan of these engines and limit their availability thereby increasing maintenance costs and risking safety. Mitigating these risks has become more prevalent in recent years due to increasing combustion temperatures in effort to increase fuel efficiency. Increasing combustion temperatures directly increases deposit formation onto hot-section components. Monitoring deposit formation on existing turbine engine platforms and improving deposit resilience on new designs has been the industry focus for the last two decades.

This study focused on statistically modeling the initial onset of microparticle deposits onto an analogous hot-section surface. Generally, as deposits accumulate onto a hot-section surface, the existing deposit formation is more likely to bond with incoming particulate at a faster rate than an exposed bare surface. Predicting the initial deposits onto a bare surface can determine the accelerated deposition rate depending on subsequent particulate impinging onto the surface. To emulate the initial deposits, a HASTELLOY® X test coupon was exposed to 20 μm to 40 μm samples of Arizona Road Test Dust (ARD) at varying loadings and aerosol densities. The Virginia Tech Aerothermal Rig was used for all test scenarios at flow-particle temperatures between 1000°C to 1100°C. Several statistical models were developed as a function of many independent variables, culminating with a final sticking probability (SP) model. Overall, the SP of individual ARD particulate is a primary function of flow-particle temperature and normal impact momentum. Tangential impact momentum of a particle will decrease the SP, while surface temperatures reaching isothermal conditions with the flow will increase SP. However, there are specific cases where lower surface temperatures and high particle temperatures result in a high SP. Particle size was a strong predictor of SP where particles between 10 μm to 19 μm were 5 to 10 times greater than the 19 μm to 40 μm range. Additional studies will be necessary to examine some additional parameters that become more prominent with smaller particle sizes. Ultimately, the intention of the models is to assist turbine engine designers to improve resilience to deposit formation on hot-section components.