Executive Summary : | Lube Oil contamination with fuel and other foreign particles forms a serious safety concern with catastrophic consequences. Detecting fuel in oil or any other contamination in oil, oil/fuel leaks, oil cocking will significantly reduce the risk of fire, engine IFSD (In Flight Shut Down) & UER (Unscheduled Engine Removal). The proposal aims to determine contamination in aircraft engine lube oil using sensors and e-nose platforms. Further the study to involve determining engine lube oil degradation with moisture, coke and other foreign objects (metals, TBC coatings, silicate dust) through suitable detection technologies. The sensor technology can be of smell/aroma sensing methods or of detecting chemical contaminants in a vibratory and hot environment which would be similar that exists in an aircraft engine lube system. The convention method involves collecting lube samples and lab tests which is laborious and time consuming. Detection of lube oil contamination monitoring will result in improved flight safety and reliability and time on wing. Project scope also includes the proposal of best sensor technologies to be used to detect lube oil contamination and demonstrating proof of concept for various lube oil degradation to enable on remote/wing diagnosis. The newly developed detection methodologies, benchmark signatures along with smart algorithms should be successfully transition to Aviation which will use the information to implement monitoring and decision making on aircraft engines. Such an approach has not been taken up or adopted previously in an Indian scenario and thus would constitute a major advancement in terms of both scientific and technical knowhow. This would lead to societal benefits with respect to technology-creation for MSME and SME industries and also create new supply chain for Indian industries targeting global markets. |
