Fuel Lubricity Additive Evaluation.

Abstract : The U.S. Department of Defense is using kerosene fuel in compression ignition engines. This fuel is largely replacing conventional diesel, which has been used for many years. Jet A-1 and JP-8 have a number of advantages compared to diesel fuel. In particular, logistics burden is greatly reduced through the use of a single fuel for both aviation and ground vehicles on the battlefield. However, kerosene based fuels typically have reduced lubricity compared to diesel fuels, potentially reducing injection system durability and vehicle readiness. A range of lubricity additives have been developed for use in low sulfur diesel and are commercially available. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these additives when used in kerosene based fuels. A number of additives were obtained and evaluated using laboratory scale tests. The most effective additive was selected based on these results and tested using a 200 hour procedure with full scale injection equipment. The equipment tests were performed with two additive concentrations in a very severely refined Jet A-1 fuel. The results indicate that the commercially available lubricity additive effectively reduces wear at a concentration of 80 mg/L. A slight additional improvement in lubricity was obtained if additive concentration was increased to 200 mg/L.