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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
The effect of theoretical SAF composition on calculated engine and aircraft efficiency
Fuel (Guildford), Vol.371, 132049
09/01/2024
Appears in Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT)
Abstract
Whether the feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) originates from agriculture or from waste streams, life cycle CO2 emissions per unit enthalpy are lower for SAF than they are for petroleum distillates primarily because of differences on the front end such as fostered growth of crops or decreased demand for resources or acreage to manage wastes. This work, however, is concerned with what happens on the consumption side. Sustainable aviation fuel is required by ASTM D4054 / D7566 to meet a higher thermal stability standard than petroleum distillate fuels and this characteristic can be leveraged to improve energy efficiency in new engine or aircraft designs where a commitment has been made to burning fuel that meets a specification beyond that of conventional JetA. Beyond thermal stability, non-drop-in SAF (Jet-X) developers have the opportunity to further increase the value of their product by infusing higher-than-conventional-JetA energy density (enthalpy per unit volume, ED) into their SAF. Finally, fuel specific energy (enthalpy per unit mass, LHV) has a direct impact on aircraft efficiency which we have determined to be 0.43% per MJ/kg increase in LHV depending on the mission and aircraft model, and this is applicable to both drop-in and non-drop-in applications. While higher energy density fuels may be leveraged in a new aircraft design to decrease drag and weight, aircraft development potential with reduced tank volumes is typically constrained by other factors such as wing packaging, passenger volume requirements and overall center of gravity and flight control law restrictions.
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Details
- Title
- The effect of theoretical SAF composition on calculated engine and aircraft efficiency
- Creators
- Randall C. Boehm - Washington State University, School of Mechanical and Materials EngineeringConor Faulhaber - Washington State Univ, Dept Biol Syst Engn, Bioprod Sci & Engn Lab, Richland, WA 99354 USALily Behnke - University of DaytonJoshua Heyne - University of Dayton
- Publication Details
- Fuel (Guildford), Vol.371, 132049
- Academic Unit
- Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT); Alternative Jet Fuel
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grants
- 13-C-AJFE-WaSU-036, Federal Aviation Administration (United States, Washington) - FAA
- Grant note
- United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Environment and Energy through ASCENT 13-C-AJFE- WaSU-036 / FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and the Environment
- Identifiers
- 99901140739101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article