Autoignition behavior of jet fuel relevant pure hydrocarbon components in a rapid compression machine

Rising environmental, economical, and political concerns over conventional fossil fuels motivate the implementation of alternative energies into military and commercial applications. Alternative fuel production processes can create possible replacements for conventional fuels; however, current production methods result in drastically different fuel compositions which can impact the combustion performance of current engines. Therefore, examination of pure hydrocarbon species, which represent major chemical structures found in jet fuels will help to clarify the impact of chemical species groups on combustion behavior. The objective of this work is to provide data investigating the autoignition characteristics of jet fuel relevant individual pure hydrocarbon species and compare their autoignition properties against conventional aviation fuel under a range of temperatures and at stoichiometric to lean conditions in a rapid compression machine (RCM) at compressed pressures of 10 bar and 20 bar. This study examines four pure hydrocarbon components: n-dodecane, isododecane, butylcyclohexane, and butylbenzene. Each component represents the following major chemical groups of jet fuels, respectively: normal alkane, isoalkane, cyclic alkane, and aromatic. Ignition delay time measurements will be conducted at low to intermediate temperatures (620 K≤ T≤780 K) in a RCM by investigating the pressure trace history of the ignition event.