Recent advances in chemical kinetics of jet fuels

Abstract

Chemical kinetics of all kinds of transportation fuels have become essential tools in the development of engines that can burn fuels more efficiently, emit lower levels of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, and produce more flexible, reliable and higher performing operation. Like gasoline and diesel fuels used in automobiles and trucks, jet fuels historically have been produced primarily from petroleum that has been refined to satisfy the specific needs of each type of engine, and for many years these fuels have been evaluated experimentally and refined on the basis of actual engine tests. However, in recent years, dramatic advances have been made in developing, testing, and utilizing chemical kinetic models to assist in evaluation of many types of fuels. A particular challenge in the past was that kinetic fuel models could simulate combustion only for relatively small hydrocarbon molecules such as natural gas, propane, or hydrogen, due to a variety of limitations. This was unfortunate because all of these practical transportation fuels actually consist of many types of rather large molecules. But the last few years have brought a revolution in the variety, size, and complexity of fuel components that can now be modeled using detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms. This is especially true for jet fuels, which have previously received less attention from kinetics modeling than either gasoline or diesel fuel. The present paper intends to provide an update of the detailed chemical kinetic landscape, with particular attention to those classes and sizes of fuels that are burned in jet engines.