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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 163 records · Page 9

Measurement of the linear viscoelastic behavior of antimisting kerosene

Measurements of dynamic viscoelastic properties in very small oscillating shear deformations was made on solutions of a jet fuel, Jet A, containing an antimisting polymeric additive, FM-9. A few measurements were also made on solutions of FM-9 in a mixed solvent of mineral oil, Tetralin, and 0-terphenyl. Two samples of FM-9 had approximate number-average molecular weights of 12,000,000 and 8,100,000 as deduced from analysis of the measurements. The ranges of variables were 2.42 to 4.03 g/1 in concentration (0.3 to 0.5% by weight), 1 to 35 in temperature, 1.3 to 9.4 cp in solvent viscosity, and 103 to 6100 Hz in frequency. Measurements in the Jet A solvent were made both with and without a modifying carrier. The results were compared with the Zimm theory and the viscoelastic behavior was found to resemble rather closely that of ordinary non-polar polymers in theta solvents. The relation of the results to the antithixotropic behavior of such solutions a high shear rates is discussed in terms of intramolecular and intermolecular interactions.

Ferry, J. D.↗

The Stirling Project

Stirling Engine's advanced technology engine offers multiple advantages, principal among them reduced fuel consumption and lower exhaust emissions than comparable internal combustion auto engines, plus multifuel capability. Stirling can use gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, jet fuel, alcohol, methanol, butane and that's not the whole list. Applications include irrigation pumping, heat pumps, and electricity generation for submarine, Earth and space systems.

Source record↗

Thermal Stability Testing of a Fischer-Tropsch Fuel and Various Blends with Jet A

Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) jet fuel composition differs from petroleum-based, conventional commercial jet fuel because of differences in feedstock and production methodology. Fischer-Tropsch fuel typically has a lower aromatic and sulfur content and consists primarily of iso and normal parafins. The ASTM D3241 specification for Jet Fuel Thermal Oxidation Test (JFTOT) break point testing method was used to test the breakpoint of a baseline conventional Jet A, a commercial grade F-T jet fuel, and various blends of this F-T fuel in Jet A. The testing completed in this report was supported by the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Subsonics Fixed Wing Project.

Klettlinger, Jennifer Suder↗

Thermal Stability Testing of Fischer-Tropsch Fuel and Various Blends with Jet A, as Well as Aromatic Blend Additives

Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) jet fuel composition differs from petroleum-based, conventional commercial jet fuel because of differences in feedstock and production methodology. Fischer-Tropsch fuel typically has a lower aromatic and sulfur content and consists primarily of iso and normal parafins. The ASTM D3241 specification for Jet Fuel Thermal Oxidation Test (JFTOT) break point testing method was used to test the breakpoint of a baseline conventional Jet A, a commercial grade F-T jet fuel, and various blends of this F-T fuel in Jet A. The testing completed in this report was supported by the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Subsonics Fixed Wing Project.

Klettlinger, J.↗

Measurement of Spray Chamber Ignition Delay and Cetane Numbers for Aviation Turbine Fuels

Experiments using pure compounds, National Jet Fuels Combustion Program (NJFCP) test fuels, and commercial jet fuels were conducted to demonstrate the equivalence of the indicated cetane number (ICN) and derived cetane number (DCN) for jet fuels. The calibrated range for ICN was also extended to lower cetane number (CN) values (5 to 35) to allow CN quantification for jet fuel synthetic blending components (SBCs) with low CN. ICN and DCN were shown to be highly correlated for values above about 30. This study presents the most comprehensive comparison of these two methods published to date. Because of the importance of low-volume test methods for early-stage SBC production process development, we demonstrated that ICN and DCN can be accurately measured with 15 mL of fuel, well below 40 to 100 mL required by standard methods. ICN or DCN is important for jet fuels because fuels with lower CN are more prone to lean blowout (LBO), an undesirable operational failure in a jet engine. Comparing data on a fuel-to-air ratio (Φ) at LBO for the NJFCP fuels shows similar linear correlations for ICN and DCN. Ignition delay measurements at lower-pressure and higher-temperature conditions may be more directly relevant to LBO. At 675 °C, 0.5 MPa, and a global Φ of roughly 0.68, ignition delay time correlations to LBO were similar to those produced from DCN and ICN. A much weaker correlation was obtained with a global Φ value of 0.34.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Some aspects of aircraft jet engine fuels

Technologies are reviewed for improving the thermal stability of jet fuels, with reference to the overheating of fuel tanks in supersonic aircraft. Consideration is given to the development of a jet fuel with high thermal stability by the Polish petroleum industry.

Bekiesinski, R.↗

Numerical Simulation of Lean Blowout of Alternative Fuels in 7-element Lean Direct Injector

This research presents the result of numerically simulating 7-element swirl-venturi Lean Direct Injector (SV-LDI) lean blowout (LBO) experiments conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center in May of 2019. After simulating a cold flow case to confirm the pressure drop agrees well with the experiment, additional cases with two different fuels (an average jet fuel and a Gevo alcohol-to-jet fuel) from the National Jet Fuels Combustion Program (NJFCP) were computed to numerically determine the LBO condition. The procedure to approach the LBO follows the method used in the experiment where the air mass flow rate is gradually increased while the fuel supply is maintained. Transient history of global heat release rate as a function of air flow rate is presented, as well as temperature contours at different conditions to give a visual representation of the flame state. The Open National Combustion Code (OpenNCC) used in this research adopted reduced HyChem (Hybrid Chemistry) models along with k-LES turbulence model and a Lagrangian spray model that takes into account droplet internal temperature distribution affected by the shear force on the droplet surface. The transport equations and chemical reaction terms are integrated together to enhance conservation of chemical species that are especially important in the near LBO conditions. After showing the computed range of LBO agrees well with the experimental measurements, time averaged solutions of both fuels at their initial condition and at their limiting condition just before LBO are compared in detail to facilitate the understanding of LBO mechanism.

combustion↗

Effect of hydrocarbon fuel type on fuel

A modified jet fuel thermal oxidation tester (JFTOT) procedure was used to evaluate deposit and sediment formation for four pure hydrocarbon fuels over the temperature range 150 to 450 C in 316-stainless-steel heater tubes. Fuel types were a normal alkane, an alkene, a naphthene, and an aromatic. Each fuel exhibited certain distinctive deposit and sediment formation characteristics. The effect of aluminum and 316-stainless-steel heater tube surfaces on deposit formation for the fuel n-decane over the same temperature range was investigated. Results showed that an aluminum surface had lower deposit formation rates at all temperatures investigated. By using a modified JFTOT procedure the thermal stability of four pure hydrocarbon fuels and two practical fuels (Jet A and home heating oil no. 2) was rated on the basis of their breakpoint temperatures. Results indicate that this method could be used to rate thermal stability for a series of fuels.

Wong, E. L.↗

Alternative jet aircraft fuels

Potential changes in jet aircraft fuel specifications due to shifts in supply and quality of refinery feedstocks are discussed with emphasis on the effects these changes would have on the performance and durability of aircraft engines and fuel systems. Combustion characteristics, fuel thermal stability, and fuel pumpability at low temperature are among the factors considered. Combustor and fuel system technology needs for broad specification fuels are reviewed including prevention of fuel system fouling and fuel system technology for fuels with higher freezing points.

Grobman, J.↗

The Challenge Ahead: A Critical Perspective on Meeting U.S. Growth Targets for Sustainable Aviation Fuel

With demand for jet fuel expected to more than double by 2050 and triple by 2070, continued and accelerated efforts to decarbonize the global aviation sector are needed to curtail rising emissions and avert the worst outcomes of climate change. In response to this call-to-action, the United States has unveiled the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, which seeks to expedite the development of alternative fuel pathways that offer a minimum of a 50% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional jet fuel. However, there is growing concern on whether sufficient biomass will be readily available to satisfy the projected sharp rise in demand for SAF. Carbon dioxide point-source emissions combined with rising supply from direct air capture efforts have the potential to complement and offset any supply gaps for biomass-derived SAF and other use cases. Independent of the chosen feedstock and conversion technology, numerous challenges persist across SAF production in seeking to drive down fuel cost and carbon intensity. To hit the 2030 target of 3 billion gal/yr, this means about a 100% compound annual growth rate in volumetric SAF production (about 130 times scale-up) will need to be realized. To achieve the stretch goal of 35 billion gallons of SAF per year by 2050, volumetric production must increase by a factor of 12 from the 3-billion-gal/year 2030 target of SAF Grand Challenge. The comparatively longer runway for 2050 combined with significant production volume growth suggests a more inclusive "all-hands-on-deck"-style approach will likely play a role. A key component in success lies in the coordinated research, development, demonstration, and deployment efforts by multiple federal agencies and industry partnerships.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Numerical Simulation of an Enclosed Laminar Jet Diffusion Flame in Microgravity Environment: Comparison with ELF Data

Enclosed diffusion flames are commonly found in practical combustion systems, such as the power-plant combustor, gas turbine combustor, and jet engine after-burner. In these systems, fuel is injected into a duct with a co-flowing or cross-flowing air stream. The diffusion flame is found at the surface where the fuel jet and oxygen meet, react, and consume each other. In combustors, this flame is anchored at the burner (i.e., fuel jet inlet) unless adverse conditions cause the flame to lift off or blow out. Investigations of burner stability study the lift off, reattachment, and blow out of the flame. Flame stability is strongly dependent on the fuel jet velocity. When the fuel jet velocity is sufficiently low, the diffusion flame anchors at the burner rim. When the fuel jet velocity is increased, the flame base gradually moves downstream. However, when the fuel jet velocity increases beyond a critical value, the flame base abruptly jumps downstream. When this "jump" occurs, the flame is said to have reached its lift-off condition and the critical fuel jet velocity is called the lift-off velocity. While lifted, the flame is not attached to the burner and it appears to float in mid-air. Flow conditions are such that the flame cannot be maintained at the burner rim despite the presence of both fuel and oxygen. When the fuel jet velocity is further increased, the flame will eventually extinguish at its blowout condition. In contrast, if the fuel jet velocity of a lifted flame is reduced, the flame base moves upstream and abruptly returns to anchor at the burner rim. The fuel jet velocity at reattachment can be much lower than that at lift off, illustrating the hysteresis effect present in flame stability. Although there have been numerous studies of flame stability, the controlling mechanisms are not well understood. This uncertainty is described by Pitts in his review of various competing theories of lift off and blow out in turbulent jet diffusion flames. There has been some research on the stability of laminar flames, but most studies have focused on turbulent flames. It is also well known that the airflow around the fuel jet can significantly alter the lift off, reattachment and blow out of the jet diffusion flame. Buoyant convection is sufficiently strong in 1-g flames that it can dominate the flow-field, even at the burner rim. In normal-gravity testing, it is very difficult to delineate the effects of the forced airflow from those of the buoyancy-induced flow. Comparison of normal-gravity and microgravity flames provides clear indication of the influence of forced and buoyant flows on the flame stability. The overall goal of the Enclosed Laminar Flames (ELF) investigation (STS-87/USMP-4 Space Shuttle mission, November to December 1997) is to improve our understanding of the effects of buoyant convection on the structure and stability of co-flow diffusion flame, e.g., see http://zeta.lerc.nasa.gov/expr/elf.htm. The ELF hardware meets the experiment hardware limit of the 35-liter interior volume of the glovebox working area, and the 180x220-mm dimensions of the main door. The ELF experiment module is a miniature, fan-driven wind tunnel, equipped with a gas supply system. A 1.5-mm diameter nozzle is located on the duct's flow axis. The cross section of the duct is nominally a 76-mm square with rounded corners. The forced air velocity can be varied from about 0.2 to 0.9 m/s. The fuel flow can be set as high as 3 std. cubic centimeter (cc) per second, which corresponds to a nozzle exit velocity of up to 1.70 m/s. The ELF hardware and experimental procedure are discussed in detail in Brooker et al. The 1-g test results are repeated in several experiments following the STS-87 Mission. The ELF study is also relevant to practical systems because the momentum-dominated behavior of turbulent flames can be achieved in laminar flames in microgravity. The specific objectives of this paper are to evaluate the use reduced model for simulation of flame lift-off and blowout.

Jia, Kezhong↗

Combustion Temperature Measurement by Spontaneous Raman Scattering in a Jet-A Fueled Gas Turbine Combustor Sector

Spontaneous vibrational Raman scattering was used to measure temperature in an aviation combustor sector burning jet fuel. The inlet temperature ranged from 670 K (750 F) to 756 K (900 F) and pressures from 13 to 55 bar. With the exception of a discrepancy that we attribute to soot, good agreement was seen between the Raman-derived temperatures and the theoretical temperatures calculated from the inlet conditions. The technique used to obtain the temperature uses the relationship between the N2 anti-Stokes and Stokes signals, within a given Raman spectrum. The test was performed using a NASA-concept fuel injector and Jet-A fuel over a range of fuel/air ratios. This work represents the first such measurements in a high-pressure, research aero-combustor facility.

Hicks, Yolanda R.↗

Experimental verification of the thermodynamic properties for a jet-A fuel

Thermodynamic properties for a Jet-A fuel were determined by Shell Development Company in 1970 under a contract for NASA Lewis Research Center. The polynomial fit necessary to include Jet-A fuel (liquid and gaseous phases) in the library of thermodynamic properties of the NASA Lewis Chemical Equilibrium Program is calculated. To verify the thermodynamic data, the temperatures of mixtures of liquid Jet-A injected into a hot nitrogen stream were experimentally measured and compared to those calculated by the program. Iso-octane, a fuel for which the thermodynamic properties are well known, was used as a standard to calibrate the apparatus. The measured temperatures for the iso-octane/nitrogen mixtures reproduced the calculated temperatures except for a small loss due to the non-adiabatic behavior of the apparatus. The measurements for Jet-A were corrected for this heat loss and showed excellent agreement with the calculated temperatures. These experiments show that this process can be adequately described by the thermodynamic properties fitted for the Chemical Equilibrium Program.

Graciasalcedo, Carmen M.↗

Lean Blowout (LBO) Simulations in a Rich-Burn Quick-Quench Lean-Burn (RQL) Gas Turbine Combustor

The transient processes involving lean blowout (LBO) in a RQL combustor such as the single cup combustor in the National Jet Fuels Combustion Program (NJFCP) referee rig are simulated with the reduced mechanisms based on Hybrid Chemistry for two different fuels, Cat-A2 and Cat-C1. Cat-A2 fuel is Jet-A with average or nominal properties based on a survey of the Petroleum Quality Information System database. The Cat-C1, an alternative jet fuel, is a GEVO alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel composed almost entirely of two highly-branched C12 and C16 iso-paraffins. Experiments conducted in the NJFCP referee rig established a stable flame at an equivalence ratio of 0.096 (the near LBO condition) as the starting condition for LBO tests performed with all Category A and C fuels. Simulations of the approach to LBO verify that a stable flame is established at the near-LBO condition for each fuel before reducing fuel flow rate (and thus equivalence ratio) in a step-wise manner. At each new equivalence ratio, the global heat release rate and total fuel evaporation time histories are monitored to verify a new stable flame condition has been established before performing the next reduction in equivalence ratio until the flame is approaching the blowout. Main conclusions are threefold: (1) For Cat-C1 fuel the equivalence ratio for LBO is around 0.087. (2) For Cat-A2 fuel the equivalence ratio for LBO is either 0.082 or 0.078 depended on the time span of equivalence ratio of 0.085. (3) The averaged difference from LES on LBO for Cat-C1 relative to Cat-A2 is 8.75% versus 7.8% from the experimental data.

LES, Lean blow out↗

Evaluation of Performance Variables to Accelerate the Deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels at a Regional Scale

An increase in jet fuel consumption and its associated emissions across the world have led to the need for alternative technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). One option to produce SAFs is to utilize waste or biomass-based feedstocks that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% or more compared to conventional jet fuel. However, there is a lack of understanding of how the synergistic effects of key performance variables could hinder or help the deployment of aviation fuels on a regional scale. Here, we assess the implications of key variables-including type and quantity of waste/biomass feedstock availability near the airport, cost of SAF production, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, policies, and fuel/infrastructure logistics-on the deployment of SAF at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. We consider three ASTM International-approved SAF technologies (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids, Fischer-Tropsch, and Alcohol to Jet) that can be blended up to 50% with petroleum-based jet fuel. Results from our analysis show that woody biomass-based Fischer-Tropsch technology has the lowest fuel production costs ($2.31-$2.81/gallon gasoline equivalent) of all pathways, and it reduces life cycle GHG emissions by 86% compared to conventional jet fuel despite the higher availability of crop residues compared to either woody biomass or fats, oils, and greases. Also, infrastructure is available at O'Hare International Airport to blend SAF with Jet A fuel through three terminals directly connected to the airport via pipelines. Our sensitivity analysis shows renewable fuel incentives and feedstock price to be key performance variables affecting the production cost and deployment of SAF.

alcohol-to-jet↗