Date of Award

2006

Degree Name

M.S. in Chemical Engeneering

Department

Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

Abstract

As thermal demands placed on jet fuel increase, improved knowledge of fuel chemistry is needed for the development of better deposition mitigation techniques. A new tool is needed to examine deposition such as the in-situ carbon deposition test (ICDT) created in this work. Capabilities achieved for the ICDT include: in-situ oxidation and quantitation of deposits, low fuel volumes, and controlled residence time and extent of reaction. Fuels were thermally stressed in a Lindberg Furnace, and in-situ oxidation of deposition to CO2 was accomplished using the same furnace and a CuO oxidation catalyst. Oxidation of deposition was measured to be complete under a reactor condition of 750°C and a catalyst stage temperature of 400°C. The deposition measurement of this oxidation process was repeatable, and measured in total pg of deposit per mL of stressed fuel. This allowed the in-situ carbon deposition test to accurately distinguish oxidative characteristics of different fuels. A complete thermal oxidative experiment required less than 15 mL of fuel fortesting, and total deposition could be quantified as low as 0.5 pg. Deposition trends were consistent for the ICDT iiiand other systems for different fuels and additives. This verified that data obtained from the ICDT was applicable to deposition studies and especially useful for preliminary evaluation of fuel oxidation characteristics. The low volume and excellent reproducibility makes the test ideal for explorative studies or use with novel fuels or additives. Deposition characteristics were also compared for different temperature ranges over the range of complete oxidation. A trend of increasing deposition with temperature was found over the 250°C to 400°C temperature range with a leveling of deposition over the range of 400°C to 500°C.

Keywords

Jet planes Fuel Thermal properties, Jet planes Fuel Testing, Combustion deposits in engines

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2006, author

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