Degradation of a Jet A Fuel in a Single-Pass Heat Exchanger

Abstract

The formation of bulk and surface insolubles in a Jet A fuel during a single pass through heated stainless-steel tubes has been studied. Low temperature and low flow rates were utilized to produce near-isothermal conditions. In a second series of experiments, depletion of oxygen in the fuel saturated with respect to room-temperature air was measured under identical isothermal conditions. At a wall/bulk-fuel temperature of 185°C, rates of surface deposition and oxygen depletion were correlated; the maximum in the surface-deposition rate was found to occur after the Jet A fuel was stressed sufficiently that the dissolved oxygen was totally consumed. Results are discussed in terms of the autoxidation of the Jet A fuel and the concurrent production of deleterious bulk and surface insolubles.