Testing and Qualification of a Twelve-Cell Oxidation Apparatus for Conducting ASTM D2274 Stability Tests

摘要

A new twelve-cell oxidation apparatus for conducting fuel stability tests using ASTM D2274 Oxidation Stability of Distillate Fuel Oil (Accelerted Method) was subjected to an extensive qualification procedure. It was tested for physical integrity and temperature responsiveness and the twelve oxygen flowmeters and the temperature controls were calibrated. Finally, several batches of fuel were tested to compare operators, determine the standard deviation among replicates, and ascertain location effects. Insertion of 12 cells containing 350-ml fuel each at 18 C (65 F) resulted in a 6 C (11 F) drop in bath temperature with the original bath temperature recovered in approximately 20-25 minutes. The fuel in the tubes reached set point temperature within 1 C (2 F) in about 30 minutes. The major concludsions were that the apparatus is acceptable for running D2274 accelerated stability tests and it provides a bath of uniform temperature with no location difference of statistical significance. Keywords: Fuel stability apparatus; Calibration; Physical integrity; Temperature responsiveness; Location effects; Navy fuels; and Distillate fuel oils.