What happens to the water that gets sucked into a jet engine during heavy weather?
by 
MG1942 Has a Life Penguin
ANSWERS: 5
-
I imagine that it gets quickly evaporated and thrown out the back as a gas, where it would condense again, but I don't know this for a fact, it just seems like what would happen *shrugs*
-
I think it is what contrails are made of.
-
Per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_engine : "As air is drawn deeper through the compressor, its heat and pressure increases." I'd say that supports Twhupfold's supposition.
-
Evaporates and is thrown out the back. If the engine is running hot enough it can increase thrust because it has more mass than air; early jets such as the BAC 1-11 had water injectors to increase thrust at takeoff - at the cost of making them very smoky. If there is too much water in older jets, it can put the flame out and the jet goes quiet. Modern jets have separators to ensure that it doesn't get into the core and do this; in these jets it probably just gets flung out the back in very fine droplets.
-
Jet engines are made to avoid high amounts of water intake during bad weather. The design of the first stage turbofan actually deflects some water while the rest is channeled through a bypass system. These channels prevent too much water from actually getting to the core combustion chamber. The small amount of water that actually reaches the center is quickly evaporated. This is a partial cause of contrails behind aircraft. The condensation trails that you see following planes is most often due to the convergence of high and low pressure air at the wingtip vortices. However, some of it is also due to jet exhaust mixed with vaporized water passing around the engines.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC