Applying the principle of corresponding states to multi-component hydrocarbon mixtures (jet fuels)

Date of Award

2015

Degree Name

M.S. in Chemical Engineering

Department

Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

Advisor/Chair

Advisor: Zachary John West

Abstract

Aviation turbine fuel is required to meet stringent product specifications due the critical importance it plays inside of the turbines during the fuel's use. The specification tests for military and commercial grades of jet fuel include over twenty individual analyses, which are costly in both time and money. In addition, these specifications were designed for petroleum derived fuels and are not always applicable to new finished fuels from alternative sources. For these reasons, it is desirable to develop tools to assess a broad range of jet fuel properties based on the underlying chemical composition. This work outlines a methodology to predict two fuel properties, i.e., density and viscosity, using a theoretical model called generalized corresponding states (GCSP), a subset of the corresponding states principal (CSP). The work analyzes different methods to calculate the critical properties of the mixture's components. The components are of vital importance to GCSP. It also investigates reference fluids of the system, which is another important factor in modelling with GCSP. Results for the separate physical parameters, using an initial set of over 50 jet fuels, indicates model predictions fall within an average error range that spans from 0.01% to 7.29%, and is strongly dependent on the critical properties and reference fluids used. Additional improvements to current models and methods are proposed.

Keywords

Jet planes Fuel Testing, Jet planes Fuel Viscosity Testing, Jet planes Fuel Density Testing, Chemical Engineering, Generalized Corresponding States, Corresponding States Principal, Aviation Fuels, Hydrocarbon Mixtures

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2015, author

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