Development of a Synthetic Surrogate for F-24 from Blends of Iso-Paraffinic Kerosene (IPK) and Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Kerosene (S8) in a Constant Volume Combustion Chamber (CVCC)

Investigations were conducted using mass blends of Iso-Paraffinic Kerosene (IPK) and Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Kerosene (S8) to produce a synthetic surrogate for aerospace F-24. Due to the fossil fuel origin of F-24, the introduction of a synthetic surrogate would create a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with sources obtained from within the United States. An analysis of ignition delay (ID), combustion delay (CD), derived cetane number (DCN), negative temperature coefficient (NTC) region, Low-Temperature Heat Release region (LTHR) and High-Temperature Heat Release (HTHR) was conducted using a PAC CID 510 Constant Volume Combustion Chamber (CVCC). The fuels examined in this study are neat IPK, neat S8, neat F-24, and by mass percentages, as follows: 75IPK 25S8, 52IPK 48S8, 51IPK 49S8, 50IPK 50S8 and 25IPK 75S8. The DCN values determined for IPK, S8, and F-24 were 26.92, 59.56 and 44.35 respectively. The influence of IPK present in the blends increases CD, thus reducing the DCN significantly. The fuel blend of 50IPK 50S8 was observed to be the closest match to F-24 when comparing DCN, ID and CD. The surrogate blends were determined to have a lower magnitude of peak pressure ringing compared to that of the neat S8 and F-24, this is due to the extended NTC region caused by the IPK present in the blend. During further refinement of the surrogate blend, the Apparent Heat Release Rate (AHRR) curve for the 51IPK 49S8 fuel blend was found to have the closest match to the AHRR of F24. The surrogate blend 50IPK 50S8 was shown to have the smallest percent difference and best match during the LTHR stage, compared to F-24, while 52IPK 48S8 had the smallest percent difference for the energy released during LTHR. The ID and CD of the 25/75% blends were too dissimilar from the F-24 target to be considered as a surrogate. A Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH) analysis was also conducted during the combustion of the three neat fuels in the CVCC. This analysis was conducted to relate the ID, CD, HTHR and ringing to the vibrations that occur during combustion. Neat S8 was observed to have the most vibrations occurring during the combustion process. Additionally, the HTHR was observed to have a distinct pattern for the three neat fuels and the combustion of these fuels was quieter overall.