Vaporization of JP-8 Jet Fuel in a Simulated Aircraft Fuel Tank ...

The fuel used in this experimentation was obtained from the Atlantic City
International Airport and delivered via fuel truck to the laboratory. Ten fuel drums were
filled with JP-8, sealed and stored outside the laboratory due to technical center safety
regulations. One fresh fuel drum was allowed to be stored in the lab while testing, and
one was allowed in the lab to drain fuel into from completed tests. When the used fuel
drum was full, it was dumped into large underground fuel tanks outside the laboratory.
The fuel was then re-used by the jet engines that power the wind tunnel at the Air
Induction Facility, which is at the same location as the laboratory, since the fuel has only
been heated and not combusted or tainted in any way. Throughout the testing, two fuel
samples were taken from fresh drums and stored in 500 ml bottles, once in the beginning
of the series of tests and once at the end. The samples were sent over to the Fuels
Research Facility at the technical center for a flash point test. The results from the tests
are shown in the appendix.
The tests performed are shown in the matrix presented in table 4.1. Besides some
initial instrument calibration tests, the first tests run were primary validation tests at sea
level to evaluate the model’s calculations with as few variables as possible. Initially,
tests were run without fuel in the tank to confirm the energy balance in the model by
comparing the measured and calculated ullage temperature profile. A single component
fuel, isooctane (99.9% reference grade 2-2-4 trimethylpentane), was used to compare the
measured and calculated fuel vapor composition without the ambiguity of the complex
composition of JP-8. Testing with JP-8 was conducted as per the test matrix in table 4.1.
A fuel quantity of 5 gallons, corresponding to a liquid layer thickness of 2.28 cm (0.9”)
and mass loading of 31.5 kg/m 3 , was used for each test. Lower fuel loadings were
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