Improvement of test methodology for evaluating diesel fuel stability
- Internal Combustion Engines Lab., Haifa (Israel)
- Fuel Authority, Tel Aviv (Israel)
- Israel Defence Forces, Tel Aviv (Israel)
The storage stability of diesel fuel has been extensively investigated for many years under laboratory conditions. Although continuous efforts have been made to improve testing techniques, there does not yet exist a generally accepted correlation between laboratory methods (such as chemical analysis of the fuel) and actual diesel engine tests. A testing method was developed by the Technion Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory (TICEL), in order to address this problem. The test procedure was designed to simulate diesel engine operation under field conditions. It is based on running a laboratory-modified single cylinder diesel engine for 50 h under cycling operating conditions. The overall rating of each test is based on individual evaluation of the deposits and residue formation in the fuel filter, nozzle body and needle, piston head, piston rings, exhaust valve, and combustion chamber (six parameters). Two methods for analyzing the test results were used: objective, based on measured data, and subjective, based on visual evaluation results of these deposits by a group of experts. Only the residual level in the fuel filter was evaluated quantitatively by measured results. In order to achieve higher accuracy of the method, the test procedure was improved by introducing the measured results of nozzle fouling as an additional objective evaluating (seventh) parameter. This factor is evaluated on the basis of the change in the air flow rate through the nozzle before and after the complete engine test. Other improvements in the method include the use of the nozzle assembly photograph in the test evaluation, and representation of all seven parameters on a continuous scale instead of the discrete scale used anteriorly, in order to achieve higher accuracy. This paper also contains the results obtained by application of this improved fuel stability test for a diesel fuel stored for a five-year period.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Washington, DC (United States). Office of Technical Management
- OSTI ID:
- 45074
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941022-Vol.1; ON: DE95008873; TRN: 95:003336-0030
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 5. international conference on stability and handling of liquid fuels, Rotterdam (Netherlands), 3-7 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 5th international conference on stability and handling of liquid fuels. Volume 1; Giles, H.N. [ed.]; PB: 431 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Investigation of Natural Circulation Instability and Transients in Passively Safe Small Modular Reactors
HIGH-STRENGTH LIGHTWEIGHT ENGINES FOR HEAVY-DUTY DIESEL TRUCKS