Jet Kerosene Fuels for Military Diesel Application

The United States Department of Defense has proposed the use of one fuel for combat, JP-8, in ground vehicles and equipment as well as in aircraft. To support this proposal, the Defense Fuel Supply Center (DFSC) requested that samples of JP-8, JP-5, and Jet A-1 from worldwide sources representing tenders of products destined for DOD bases be evaluated. Properties affecting diesel engine operation, i.e., cetane number, calculated cetane indices, kinematic viscosities at 40° and 70°C, and net heat of combustion were evaluated and compared to the requirements of Federal Specification VV-F-800D and NATO F-54. Several inspection tests were also conducted, and the data were compared to that information supplied by the refiners. A total of 91 samples of JP-8, 2 Jet A-1 samples, and 63 JP-5 samples were analyzed. The results showed that a large majority of the samples met the DF-A/DF-1 specification requirements. Frequency histograms and other statistics for many properties are presented.