- Author
-
Schaekel, F. W.
- Title
- U.S. Army Fire-Resistant Fuel (FRF) Program.
- Coporate
- Army Belvoir Research and Development Center, Fort Belvoir, VA
- Book or Conf
- Naval Sea Systems Command. Advancement of Passive Fire Protection in the Navy. Passive Fire Protection Symposium, 2nd. November 4-6, 1985,
Alexandria, VA,
145-163 p.,
1985
- Keywords
-
fuels
|
self-extinguishment
|
armored personnel carriers
|
flash point
- Abstract
- The U. S. Army has a requirement for a diesel fuel that will perform satisfactorily in diesel powered combat equipment but would self-extinguish in case of ignition by ballistic penetration or other unwanted ignition source. Six generations for fire-resistant fuel have been investigated by the Army, the latest approach involves the inclusion of surfactant-stabilized emulsified water in diesel fuel. Flammability evaluations demonstrated that such aqueous microemulsions yielded diminished mist flammability while either eliminating pool burning or providing rapid self-extinguishment of pool fires, even at fuel temperatures more than the 10 deg. C above the base fuel flash point. the FRF has excellent pool-fire resistance; however, logistical constraints and low-temperature instability of the microemulsion type FRF preclude Army-wide adoption of this fuel. Current effort is to resolve technical issues related to fielding the fuel. A Short-Term Advisory Services team recommended alternative approaches. Their recommendation led to ballistic tests with cooled fuel and antimisting agents. A movie was shown of selected ballistic tests using 90 mm on shaped charges against armored personnel carrier fuel tanks.