The occasional jettison of unburned fuel from aircraft has raised the concern of environmentalists as the possible change in atmospheric composition or damage to crops. An experimental program was conducted consisting of flying a sampling aircraft directly through a fuel dump at selected altitudes to measure fuel drop size and number distributions. The measurement results of the sampling, fuel dump wake size and hydrocarbon vapor content are presented. A multi-component fuel drop model is used to predict the amount of drop vaporization and determine the initial drop size and number distribution. A description of the model will be presented with prediction of the dispersion and fall of the fuel drops. The observed drop size distribution is corrected for evaporation using the model to estimate the initial droplet formation size. For the KC-135 aircraft fuel venting procedures, the median drop diameter formed is 270 micrometer. It is determined that fuel jettisoned 5000 ft. or higher will evaporate before reaching the ground. Ground contamination can be avoided, eliminating any potential environmental damage. (DePo)
Drop formation, evaporation modelling and environmental assessment of JP-4 fuel jettisoned from aircraft
Tropfenbildung und Verdunstung von abgeworfenem Flugzeugtreifstoff JP-4 - Umweltbeeinflussung
AIAA-Papers ; Jan ; 1-8
1979
8 Seiten, 9 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 13 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch