Effects of aromatic on soot characteristics of aviation fuel surrogates in diffusion flames

Abstract

Co-annular smoke-free laminar diffusion wick-fed flames of dodecane and its blended with various amounts of propylbenzene of 10, 20, 25 vol.% have been used to study soot formation characteristics. Dodecane and propylbenzene are selected as the surrogates for paraffin class and aromatic class of aviation fuel. A light extinction method is adopted to determine the total soot volume (TSV) as a function of flame height (Hf) and fuel mass consumption rate (FMCR). An empirical model has been built to predict soot formation of dodecane and propylbenzene (Do/PB) mixtures as the function of two variables of FMCR and concentration of propylbenzenet (%PB). TSVs of Do/PB mixtures increase with increasing Hf, FMCR and %PB. The effect of Hf, FMCR and %PB on soot formation are respectively expressed as the quadratic, power law and linear functions. The result of current work creates a database for optimizing the trade-off impacts of aromatic in aviation fuel. This information is of high importance when blending aromatic to bioparaffins, which is produced from triglycerides and fatty acids in the vegetable by hydrotreating process, for using as a fuel in aircraft engines.