In modern aircraft, the onboard fuel is used as a coolant or thermal management fluid.  The ability of jet fuels to handle the imposed thermal stress without generating harmful coke deposits is a key enabler for advanced aviation technologies.  This research opportunity is focused on research into the chemical and physical processes that occur in jet fuels at elevated temperatures and pressures.  Of particular interest are the chemistry and physics associated with formation of deposits, and in the development of instrumentation and methods to investigate and model these processes.  

References:

W. K. Lewis, et al. “Apparatus For Measuring Fuel Thermal Stability, Deposit Formation Rate, And In-Situ Reactivity Via Optical Methods” U.S. Patent #11,906,500; granted February 20, 2024.

A. F. DeBlase, et al. “Distinguishing Condensed-Phase Cracking Products with the Same Mass-to-Charge Ratio Using A Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer in Product Scan Mode” Energy Fuels 35, 13030 (2021).

A. F. DeBlase, et al. “In Situ Diagnostic of Supercritical Fuel Surrogates: Probing Heterogeneous Catalysis by Collision-Induced Dissociation in a Molecular Beam Tandem Mass Spectrometer” Energy Fuels 33, 10861 (2019).

A. F. DeBlase, et al. “Probing the Supercritical Pyrolysis Regime by Mass Spectrometry: The Effects of Aliphatic vs. Aromatic Content on the Composition of an Endothermic Fuel” Energy Fuels 32, 12289 (2018).

C. E. Bunker, et al. “Enhanced Bimolecular Reaction in a Two-Component Fluid under Pyrolytic Conditions:  In Situ Probing of the Pyrolysis of Jet Fuel Surrogates using a Supersonic Expansion Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometer” Energy Fuels 32, 3391 (2018).

key words

propulsion; jet engine; ramjet; scramjet; high Mach; high speed; hypersonic; hypersonics; fuel; jet fuel; hydrocarbons; thermal stability; deposition; carbon; coke; coking; pyrolysis; cracking; dehydrogenation; endothermic fuel; endothermics; oxidation; autoxidation; instrumentation; modeling; analysis; sensors; physical chemistry; chemical physics; analytical chemistry

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants