Apparatus for Evaluating Chemical Composition of Fuels

ABSTRACT: In advanced high-performance military aircraft, the fuel not only serves as the source of energy for the combustion process, but also serves as the primary coolant for all on-board heat sources. As such, the fuel can experience heat loads and temperatures that result in oxidative, or under extreme conditions, pyrolytic decomposition. Such conditions result in compositional changes to the fuel and in the formation of gums, tars, and soot, all of which can lead to system degradation and poor performance, increase maintenance costs, and reduced system availability directly impacting force readiness. The current state-of-the-art (SOTA) for fuel composition measurement utilizes a wide variety of analytical techniques for detection of bulk and trace species via chromatography and/or mass spectrometry, vibrational spectroscopy, electrochemical detection, and atomic absorption or emission spectroscopy.All of these SOTA techniques involve removing a sample of fuel from the ARSFSS and transporting it to a measurement apparatus. During this process, the sample material is at lower pressure and temperature than when it is in the ARSFSS under reactive conditions. The proposed Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) will develop and demonstrate an online measurement system for characterizing compositional changes in jet fuel.; BENEFIT: The proposed diagnostic for determining fuel composition of jet fuel will allow online measurements of fuel composition under reactive conditions without removing sample from the fuel system and transporting it to other instrumentation. This will allow real-time data collection that can be used to determine the impact of the fuel composition on the combustion and thermal management system of high performance aircraft as well as provide insight to the decomposition mechanisms occurring in the fuel under thermal stress. ACT will fabricate lab-scale systems for fuel testing in fuel system simulators and seek to miniaturize and commercialize the diagnostic system for direct integration in high-performance aircraft. Providing the ability to monitor fuel composition in real-time will push the limits of performance, efficiency, and force readiness in advanced high-performance aircraft.