Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the IR spectral absorption of soot particles from a Palas smoke generator. A TSI Condensation Particle Counter was used to quantify the number of soot particles produced and this was related to the intensity of the IR absorption. The broad band IR absorption increases with soot particle count but quantitative measurements of total soot mass were not obtained because accurate size distributions of the particles were not available. A sample of gas turbine engine exhaust gas was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy to determine the primary constituent unburnt hydrocarbon (UHC) species. Their relative proportions were measured with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID). These species are predominantly unsaturated C2 to C6 hydrocarbons. The infrared absorption spectrum of the exhaust gas sample was compared with that of combustion products from a laboratory kerosene burner using a multipass White cell. These were also compared with reference spectra and IR spectra of UHCs obtained non-intrusively from gas turbine engine tests. There are IR spectral band shape differences indicating that the relative proportions of the constituent UHCs in gas turbine exhaust are different from those in a kerosene burner plume.

Date Published: 16 September 1999
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 3821, Environmental Sensing and Applications, (16 September 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.364181

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3821:
Environmental Sensing and Applications
Michel R. Carleer; Moira Hilton; Torsten Lamp; Rainer Reuter; George M. Russwurm; Klaus Schaefer; Konradin Weber; Klaus C. H. Weitkamp; Jean-Pierre Wolf; Ljuba Woppowa, Editor(s)