New approach for assessment of environmental effects based on entropy optimization of jet engine

Abstract

Aircraft engines are the main emission source of the aviation industry and this is a result of the entropy formation that occurs due to the combustion performance of engines. Entropy generation resulting from the irreversibility of engines increases environmental pollution due to inefficient fuel consumption. It is important to develop understandable and applicable criteria other than emission factors to examine the environmental sustainability of these processes and make impact assessments. In this study, first, the energy performance of a jet engine was investigated depending on the second law of thermodynamics. Then, different from the literature, an environmental impact assessment was made based on two criteria developed in this study. In addition, efficiency and environmental indicators were examined considering the improvement potential, and evaluated according to the criteria. According to the analysis, it was seen that the entropy production of the engine produces a very high pollution potential, according to the defined Carnot efficiency, but this effect can be significantly reduced with the improvement potential. It was also found that this potential effect of the jet engine, depending on the defined factor, has a higher effect of 128% when ideal conditions are taken into account. At the end of the study, possible effects of the improvement potential were evaluated and some suggestions were made in terms of environmental impact.