SAE AIR6443A

This SAE Aerospace Information Report (AIR) discusses the sources of copper in aviation jet fuels, the impact of copper on thermal stability of jet fuels and the resultant impact on aircraft turbine engine performance, and potential methods for measurement of copper contamination and reduction of the catalytic activity of copper contamination in jet fuels. This document is an information report and does not provide recommendations or stipulate limits for copper concentrations in jet fuels. Copper contamination in jet fuels, more prevalent in naval applications, has a significant impact on the thermo-oxidative stability of jet fuels. Fuel oxidation and formation of carbonaceous deposits can negatively impact fuel system component, and fuel system, performance. This AIR discusses the sources and composition of copper contamination in jet fuels and the effect of copper contamination on the mechanism(s) of fuel oxidation. It summarizes the principal methods for measurement of copper contamination in jet fuels and discusses methods for removal of copper contamination from jet fuels. AIR6443 contained: (1) formatting errors in several of the chemical equations, (2) Section 2 (References) that did not conform to the SAE style, (3) several incorrect references in 2.5, (4) missing information in Figure 2, and (5) a few typos. Revision A corrects these errors. In addition: (1) discussion about JFTOT has been moved from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 since 4.1.1 is focused on the fuel thermo-oxidation mechanism, (2) the discussion in 4.2 on copper strip corrosion per ASTM D130 has been deleted since it does not relate to the scope of the document, (3) Section 5 has been revised to be more consistent with the reference (Colbert and Nowak, 2003), (4) 7.2.1 (Ion Exchange Resins) has been revised, including the removal of several references, since some of the content was considered not to be relevant to the scope of this document, (5) ASTM D7566 has been added to the list of references, and (6) there are editorial changes for clarity and to conform to the SAE guidelines for standards.

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