CHAPTER 3 QUALITY SURVEILLANCE

CHAPTER 3 QUALITY SURVEILLANCE This chapter will cover characteristics of fuels and quality surveillance. The fuels that the ABF will most commonly work with at naval activities are automo- tive gasoline (MOGAS) and jet engine (JP) fuels. You need to know the basic characteristics of these fuels to understand the need for safety and caution in handling them. This chapter includes the basic characteristics of gasolines and jet engine fuels that fuel-handling personnel should know. CHARACTERISTICS AND PROPERTIES OF FUELS LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Describe the charac- teristics and properties of the fuels commonly handled by the ABF. Motor gasolines and jet engine fuels are petroleum products manufactured from crude oil by oil refiner- ies. Through distillation, the crude oil is separated into fractions, which are groups of compounds having boiling points within a given range. Nearly all of the distillate fractions may be used as fuels. These frac- tions (which include gasoline, kerosene, jet fuels, and diesel fuel) are known as distillate fuels. Distillate fuels are flammable liquids. This means they burn when ignited. Under proper conditions they even explode with forces similar to those of TNT or dynamite. Death can result if the vapors of any of these fuels are inhaled in sufficient quantities. Serious skin irritation also can result from contact with the fuels in the liquid state. In the liquid form petroleum fuels are lighter than water, and in the vapor form they are heavier than air. So any water present in these fuels usually settles to the bottom of the container. On the other hand, vapors of these fuels, when released in the air, also tend to remain close to the ground. This increases the danger to personnel and property. From safety and health standpoints, motor gasolines and jet engine fuels must be handled with caution. SOURCE OF ENERGY Petroleum fuel is a liquid containing heat energy that turns into mechanical energy in an engine. An engine fuel must be made to suit the engine in which it is to be used. In the case of the aircraft engine, the fuel must also be suitable for the aircraft under a wide variety of operating conditions. There is no such thing as a universal fuel since a fuel suited for a gasoline engine does not work in a diesel engine and vice versa. MOGAS DESCRIPTION MOGAS (NATO Code Number F-46) is a gaso- line composed of a mixture of highly volatile liquid hydrocarbons designed for use in internal combustion engines. It is composed of the lower boiling elements of petroleum and is explosive and volatile, and must be handled with extreme caution. The octane number of MOGAS is Motor – 83 Research – 91 The octane number is a numerical measure of the antiknock properties of motor fuel, based on the per- centage of volume of isooctane in a standard reference fuel. For example, a motor fuel that produces the same degree of knocking as a standard reference fuel con- taining 80 percent isooctane has an octane number of 80. Octane number also may be referred to as octane rating. Because MOGAS has a low octane rating, it may cause knocking in engines. JP-5 DESCRIPTION JP-5 (NATO Code Number F-44) is best described as a kerosene-type jet fuel. It was developed to provide a higher flash-point fuel that could be stored on board more safely than either gasoline or earlier jet fuels. Like gasoline, it is a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons produced from petroleum. However, JP-5 is composed of higher boiling components than gasoline and is not as explosive and volatile as gasoline. JP-5 is the only grade of jet fuel authorized for fueling aircraft on Navy ships. 3-1