Mapping the mineralogy of dust in the atmosphere to help promote sustainable aviation

从大气中吸入的矿物粉尘越来越成为飞机燃气轮机发动机健康的一个问题，因为沙尘暴变得更加频繁，以应对气候变化的后果，以及现代发动机在提高发动机效率的努力中变得更加炎热。摄取的矿物质颗粒会造成许多不同类型的损害，导致燃料燃烧增加，发动机部件寿命大幅降低。损害的性质是由吸入的尘埃颗粒的精确矿物成分、大小和形状驱动的，特别是在地面和中途爬升(海拔0至~5000米)之间。因此，重要的是要了解通过对流层低层垂直方向上对大气粉尘组成的控制，以及空气中粉尘的组成如何在不同下层来源地质的区域之间以及通过大气环流的季节变化而变化。我们目前对大气尘埃的矿物学成分，特别是10微米大小的颗粒的矿物学成分的了解有限，这既是因为直接的空中采样昂贵和困难，也是因为目前的采样策略集中在气候研究上。这项由EPSRC-Rolls-Royce资助的DTP研究将集中于空气中矿物粉尘和来源地面沉积物之间的组成关系，特别是与沙尘暴事件相关的垂直和顺风向空气动力学颗粒分类。这个项目将涉及大量的实地工作，在澳大利亚有几个月的时间，学生将使用地面和空中采样技术相结合的方法，包括使用无人机和配备特别改装的过滤采样器的气象气球，来表征地面和空气中发现的矿物粉尘的类型。收集的样品将利用拉曼、扫描电子显微镜、X射线衍射仪和相关的地球化学分析技术进行粒度分布和矿物组成分析。学生将进行风洞实验，以开发和测试采样设备，并调查从地面到空中动员过程中多矿物粉尘的近地表空气动力学和矿物分选。

Mineral dust ingested from the atmosphere is increasingly a problem for the health of aircraft gas turbine engines, both as dust storms have become more frequent in response to the consequences of climate change, and as modern engines have become hotter in the drive to improve engine efficiency. The ingested mineral particles cause a number of different types of damage, leading to increased fuel burn and a substantial reduction in engine component life. The nature of damage is driven by the precise mineral composition, size and shape of the ingested dust particles, particularly between the ground surface and midway through climb (altitudes of 0 to ~5000 m). Therefore, it is important to understand the controls on the composition of atmospheric dusts vertically through the lower troposphere, and how the composition of airborne dust changes both across regions of differing underlying source geology and through seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation. Our present knowledge about the mineralogical composition of atmosphere dust, particularly for particles >10 micron-micrometer in size, is limited both because direct, airborne sampling is expensive and difficult, and because current sampling strategies are focussed on climate studies. This EPSRC-Rolls-Royce funded DTP study will focus on the compositional relationship between airborne mineral dust and source ground deposits, with particular focus on vertical and downwind aerodynamic particulate sorting associated with dust storm events. This project will involve substantial field work, with several months in Australia where the student will characterize mineral dust types as they are found on the ground and in the air using a combination of ground and airborne sampling techniques, including using drones and weather balloons fitted with specially adapted filter samplers. The collected samples will be analysed for particle size distribution and mineral composition using Raman, SEM, XRD and related geochemical analytical techniques. The student will undertake wind tunnel experiments to develop and test the sampling equipment, and to investigate near surface aerodynamics and mineral sorting from polymineralic dusts during mobilization from the ground to the air.