Properties of jet engine combustion particles during the PartEmis experiment: Hygroscopicity at subsaturated conditions

Abstract

Hygroscopic properties of combustion particles were measured online with a Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (H-TDMA) during PartEmis jet engine combustor experiments. The combustor was operated at old and modern cruise conditions with fuel sulfur contents (FSC) of 50, 410 and 1270 μg/g, and hygroscopic growth factors (HGF) of particles with different dry diameters were investigated at relative humidities RH ≤ 95%. HGFs increased strongly with increasing FSC (HGF[95% RH, 50 nm, modern cruise] = 1.01 and 1.16 for low and high FSC, respectively), and decreased with increasing particle size at fixed FSC, whereas no significant difference was detected between old and modern cruise. HGFs agreed well with a two-parameter theoretical model which provided an estimate of the sulfuric acid content of dry particles, indicating a nearly linear dependence on FSC.