Japanese fuels and lubricants, Article 3: naval research on alcohol fuel

Technical Report · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1946

OSTI ID:5178477

Neely, G L

Toward the end of World War II, Japan used alcohols, especially ethanol, as fuels for some training planes. Fuel tests showed that 99% ethanol could be used in engines of 300 to 500 hp with full-power rating, but for high-output engines, it could be used only in conditions of reduced power. In all carburetted engines, 94% ethanol gave acceleration difficulties; whereas in solid injection engines 94% ethanol could be used for the low-power range. Blends of equal parts of gasoline and 99% ethanol having the same octane number as the base gasoline could be used in high-output engines at reduced power. Blends of gasoline and 94% ethanol could not be used due to insolubility characteristics. Some of the difficulties encountered with ethanol as fuel were because of its low specific heat, low volatility, high latent heat of vaporization, pre-ignition tendencies, and corrosive action on metals. These led to poor distribution of the fuel in multi-cylinder engines, causing wide variations in mixture strength among cylinders. Also these caused difficulties in starting and acceleration, especially at low atmospheric temperatures. In order to improve volatility, tests were run with additives to alcohol fuel, including ethyl ether, acetone, and gasoline. Ethyl ether improved volatility but increased detonation, thus limiting its allowable concentration to about 3%. Ethanol was very corrosive to aluminum and brass in carburetor and engine injection systems, but dibutyl amine and sodium arsenite additives seemed to retard the corrosion. Methanol tended to corrode magnesium and its alloys, but alkaline solutions of potassium chromate were good inhibitors.

• Research Organization: Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5178477
• Report Number(s): TOM-231-559-569
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ACETONE
ADDITIVES
ALCOHOLS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM
AMINES
AVIATION FUELS
BRASS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMATES
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS
COPPER ALLOYS
COPPER BASE ALLOYS
CORROSION
ELEMENTS
ENGINES
ENTHALPY
ETHANOL
ETHERS
ETHYL ETHER
EVALUATION
FUELS
GASOLINE
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
IGNITION
KETONES
MAGNESIUM
METALS
METHANOL
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
SPECIFIC HEAT
TESTING
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION HEAT
USES
VAPORIZATION HEAT
VOLATILITY
ZINC ALLOYS