Engine Durability Evaluation Using Synthetic Fuel, Caterpillar C7 Engine

Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthetic fuel is considered a clean fuel because it typically will contain no sulfur or aromatics, but these differences from petroleum fuel (JP-8) may translate to some degree of change in equipment/engine performance in regards to power output, fuel ignition and combustibility, fuel system sealing, and fuel lubricity. A Caterpillar C7 engine was used to compare operations between JP-8 and F-T fuel. The engine was measured dimensionally, broken-in, and full-load engine performance was measured with the synthetic fuel and also JP-8, DF-2 and a 1:1 blend of S-8/JP-8. Then, the synthetic fuel was used in conducting a 420-hour endurance test cycle for comparison with same test conducted previously for JP-8. Data collection included daily oil sample analysis, post-test full-load performance, pre- and post-test engine measurements, and interim- and post-test analysis for wear and deposits. In the 420-hour test cycle, the synthetic fuel performed similarly to JP-8 in most regards. The original document contains color images.