Detailed Kinetic Modeling for the Pyrolysis of a Jet A Surrogate

Fuel microchannels for regenerative cooling are receiving increasing attention in advanced aviation technologies. Those microchannels allow heat integration between the endothermic cracking of the jet fuels and their subsequent combustion. In this work, a detailed elementary-step kinetic model is developed to gain insights into the cracking chemistry of a Jet A surrogate (n-dodecane, isooctane, n-propyl benzene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene), which allows for further optimization of those aviation technologies. A dedicated procedure is described for the automated generation of kinetic models for multi-component mixtures with the open-source Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG) software. The full kinetic model is validated against experimental measurements in multiple reactor geometries, under various experimental conditions, including both a surrogate mixture and a commercial Jet A. The experimental data include new experimental measurements for the pyrolysis of a Jet A surrogate in a tubular reactor with a detailed product analysis using comprehensive 2D GC. The good performance of the kinetic model for data from a broad range of experimental conditions demonstrates the advantage of a kinetic model with detailed chemistry against empirical kinetic models that are limited in their applicability range. Further analysis of the important chemistry in the kinetic model shows that it is essential to account for cross-reactions between the different surrogate components.

Automated summary

Fuel microchannels for regenerative cooling in aviation technologies have gained attention. A kinetic model is developed to study the cracking chemistry of Jet A surrogate and optimize aviation technologies. The model is validated against experimental data and it demonstrates the advantage of detailed chemistry. Cross-reactions between different components are found to be essential.