In order for the next generation of strategic aircraft to achieve hypersonic speeds, I.e., speeds above march 5, an adequate on board heat sink must be provided to cool engine and aircraft surfaces. This project will evaluate the current availability and potential of naphthene rich turbine fuels to meet this critical need. Such fuels are particularly promising in that they can undergo catalytic endothermic reformation to aromatic and hydrogen. The potential resource will be identified and quantified by contacting all domestic high volume producers of clean naphthene rich streams. In particular, petroleum refiners using hydrotreaters and hydrocrackers and chemical feedstock manufacturers will be sought out, and samples of their product streams procured. A laboratory scale reactor will then be used to characterize and quantify this reaction for selected candidate fuels. Actual, operational heat flux measured during these tests will be compared to the extensive chemical species information afforded by gc/ms analysis of feed and product to determine the fuel components most effective for heat sink application. This work will then provide a basis for selecting and using domestic hydrocarbon resources already in place in commercial volume for advanced aircraft application.
