Initial Effects of Converting Army Diesel-Powered Ground Vehicles to Operate on JP-8+100 Fuel

摘要

The +100 additive was developed to increase the thermal stability of JP-8 aviation fuel. It has been shown that the dispersant/detergent component of the +100 additive permanently disables the water separators in fueling systems (i.e. filter/separators), potentially allowing water to enter vehicle or equipment fuel tanks. Furthermore, the additive will remove dirt and scale (previously deposited materials) from dirty fuel systems, and carry these contaminants downstream, which may quickly plug fuel filters. Some initial USAF evaluations with diesel-engine powered ground support equipment have shown only minor fuel-filter plugging problems. However, these evaluations, have been limited to flight line support equipment, which already operates on aviation- quality JP-8 fuel and is therefore at minimal risk. This project resulted in a set of data that documents the effect on fuel-borne contaminant levels resulting from operation of a previously diesel fueled vehicle with JP-8+100 aviation fuel. The collected data illustrate that there is generally an observable increase in fuel- borne particulates during the initial circulation of JP-8+100 throughout vehicle fuel systems previously operated on diesel fuel for extended periods of time. The laboratory analyses of the collected fuel samples also show that there is generally an increase in the fuel-borne water content when a vehicle is converted to operation with JP-8+1 00.