Sp. Heneghan et al., JP-8- THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-THERMAL-STABILITY JET FUEL(100 ), Journal of offshore mechanics and Arctic engineering, 118(3), 1996, pp. 170-179
Jet fuel requirements have evolved over the years as a balance of the
demands placed by advanced aircraft performance (technological need),
fuel cost (economic factors), and fuel availability (strategic factors
). In a modern aircraft, the jet fuel not only provides the propulsive
energy for flight, but also is the primary coolant for aircraft and e
ngine subsystems. To meet the evolving challenge of improving the cool
ing potential of jet fuel while maintaining the current availability a
l a minimal price increase, the U.S. Air Force, industry and academia
have teamed to develop an additive package for JP-8 fuels. This paper
describes the development of an additive package for JP-8, to produce
''JP-8+100.'' This new fuel offers a 55 degrees C (100 degrees F) incr
ease in the bulk maximum temperature (from 325 degrees F to 425 degree
s F) and improves the heat sink capability by 50 percent. Major advanc
es made during the development of JP-8+100 fuel include the developmen
t of several new quantitative fuel analysis tests, a free radical theo
ry of autooxidation, adaptation of new chemistry models to computation
al fluid dynamics programs, and a nonparametric statistical analysis t
o evaluate thermal stability. Hundreds of additives were tested for ef
fectiveness, and a package of additives was then formulated for JP-8 f
uel. This package has been tested for fuel system materials compatibil
ity and general fuel applicability to date, the flight testing has sho
wn an improvement in thermal stability of JP-8 fuel. This improvement
has resulted in a significant reduction. in fuel-related maintenance c
osts and a threefold increase in mean time between fuel-related failur
es. In this manner, a novel high-thermal-stability jet fuel for the 21
st century has been successfully developed.