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Lubricity of military jet fuels

Journal Article · · Lubrication Engineering
OSTI ID:249864
;  [1]
  1. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH (United States)
In 1954, a corrosion inhibitor additive was required in JP-4, a wide cut gasoline type aviation turbine fuel, to alleviate corrosion carry-over from ground fuel systems to aircraft. The additive was blamed for fuel filtration problems and removed from the JP-4 specification in 1965. Almost immediately, the U.S. Air Force started experiencing lubricity problems with fuel pumps and controllers. Fuel controller tests showed that when a corrosion inhibitor was added to the fuel, the lubricity problem was alleviated. The effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitor additives as lubricity improvers was then studied. A variety of test methods evolved for use in evaluating the effectiveness of a corrosion inhibitor as a lubricity improver. In 1989, the ball-on-cylinder lubricity evaluator (BOCLE) test was added to MIL-I-25017, a military specification for fuel soluble corrosion inhibitor/lubricity improver, to determine lubricity effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitor additives. Since the revision of this specification, all corrosion inhibitor/lubricity improver additives on the qualified products list, QPL-25017, have been tested using the BOCLE. Due to aircraft engine redesign, MIL-T-25524, a thermally stable turbine fuel, recently required the addition of a lubricity additive. Concerns were raised to the effect that corrosion inhibitor/lubricity improver would have on the thermal stability of thermally stable turbine fuel. Recent jet fuel thermal oxidation tester and BOCLE evaluation of the additives in thermally stable turbine fuel addressed these concerns. 16 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.
OSTI ID:
249864
Journal Information:
Lubrication Engineering, Journal Name: Lubrication Engineering Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 51; ISSN LUENAG; ISSN 0024-7154
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English