The Role of Time, Temperature, and Chemical Composition on Jet Fuel Oxidation – Thermal and Storage Stability via Chemical Kinetic Modeling
Steven Zabarnick, Zachary J. West
Abstract
A chemical kinetic mechanism is used to explore the time/temperature behavior of jet fuel autoxidation over a wide range of temperatures (40 to 340 °C) and reaction times (50 ms to years). An analysis of previous global reaction models shows that they are incapable of accurately simulating fuel oxidation over a wide range of times and temperatures. This work shows that a single chemical kinetic mechanism can tie together low-temperature storage stability and high-temperature thermal stability conditions. The role of trace species and their interactions on autoxidation reaction rates is also studied. At lower temperatures, trace species have a large effect on determining autoxidation reaction rates due to their ability to intercept peroxy radicals and hydroperoxides. At the highest temperatures studied, oxidation rates are much less affected by trace species, so that fuel-to-fuel variations in rates become negligible. These results have implications for fuel thermal management, understanding the formation of detrimental surface deposits, and improving fuel stability during long-term storage.