peck:
Does anyone heard of measurements of the Volcanic cloud in terms of milligrams per cubic meter (Dispersed ash in air)?.
Other possibility is to monitor precipitated particles al ground level. May be some Air Quality agency is looking at this ?
These are important figures, because at the end the mass load in the turbine is a key factor for possible negative effects.
A gold star for
peck's first post. The problem is that we don't know the quantitative ash density that engines can absorb, and precious little about the ash density now in the air. If we had these numbers, then a fair risk assessment could be made.
After all, bird ingestion tests are well defined (numbers and size) for engine certification, as are water ingestion etc. tests. But we have empirical evidence that engines are no match for a couple of Canadian geese.
Give us some numbers for a design standard, and someone will certify an ash-proof engine.