THERMAL ENGINEERING LAB REPORT

STUDIES ON THE PROPERTIES OF FUELS

AND
LUBRICANTS

K.SAI PRASAD
111114054
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

STUDIES ON THE PROPERTIES OF FUELS AND

LUBRICANTS
EX. NO.: 2
DATE: 25/01/2016
AIM:
To study the properties of fuels and lubricants.
TYPES OF FUEL USED IN VEHICLES
Today's vehicles run on a variety of fuels, some of which you probably aren't
aware of. While it's true than the vast majority of vehicles run on gasoline, the
technology to burn other fuels to meet our transportation needs does exist,
with specifc advantages and disadvantages for each.
Gasoline

Gasoline or petrol is the most common fuel used in cars today. This
specialized fossil fuel is designed for four-stroke engines like the ones
found in common cars.

Gasoline allows for quick starting, fast acceleration, easy combustion

and quiet operation, according to the University of Michigan website on
fossil fuels.

The hydrocarbons contained in gasoline and its production of carbon

dioxide when burned contributes to pollution, smog and global warming.

Although it is the most readily available fuel, it is considered to be a

temporary source of fuel because of its cost, environmental efects and
limited resources.

Diesel

Diesel fuel is widely used in transport vehicles such as tractor-trailer

trucks, buses, boats and trains. This fossil fuel is also non-renewable,
like gasoline.

Although it contributes less carbon dioxide to the environment, diesel

creates more organic compounds and nitrous oxide that cause smog.

Diesel vehicles tend to last longer than gasoline vehicles, and they have
30 percent better fuel efciency than the average gasoline vehicle,
according to the Petrol Prices website.

Liquefed Petroleum Gas

Liquefed petroleum, better known as propane, is a clean fuel alternative

to gasoline that is used in common vehicles on a limited basis. You'll fnd
hybrid cars in the United Kingdom that have been designed to use
propane, but generally the only way to get a propane vehicle in the
United States is to have a gas engine converted.

Liquefed petroleum produces fewer toxins when burned and does not
contribute to smog in the same way that diesel and gasoline do. Propane
is also less expensive than gasoline.

Compressed Natural Gas

Gas and diesel engines can be converted to run on compressed natural

gas, or CNG.

CNG is a clear, odorless and non-corrosive gas that can be used in liquid
or gas form to run a combustion engine.

Vehicles ftted with a CNG fuel system can be expected to produce 80

percent less ozone-forming emissions than gasoline burning cars,
according to the Consumer Energy Center website.

CNG flling stations are in place is select areas in the country, primarily
in California.

Ethanol

Ethanol is a bio-fuel alternative to gasoline that's made from the

conversion of sugar cane, corn, barley and other natural products.

Ethanol has become popular as a fuel source because in most cases it's
one of the only fuels that can fuel a gasoline engine without
modifcations. Many car models can run on 100 percent ethanol, but it is
more commonly used as an additive.

Some states have mandated the addition of ethanol to help cut down on
the emissions and contamination caused by pure gasoline components.
E10, which is gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol, is available at
most gas stations in America today. Some places use even higher
concentrations.

Bio-diesel

Bio-diesel is a diesel substitute made from sugar beet, rapeseed or palm

oil. Individuals sometimes make this substance by collecting used oil
from restaurant fryers.

Bio-diesel burns much cleaner than standard gas or diesel and produces
far less carbon dioxide emissions when used. However, continued
production of this substance may result in excessive deforestation.

TYPES OF LUBRICANTS
1. Gaseous lubricants
2. Liquid lubricants
3. Semi-solid lubricants

4. Solid lubricants

Solid lubricants
A solid lubricant is basically any solid material which can be placed between
two bearing surfaces and which will shear more easily under a given load than
the bearing materials themselves. The coefcient of friction in dry lubrication
is related to the shearing force and the bearing load. Two primary property
requirements are:
1. Material must be able to support applied load without signifcant distortion,
deformation or loss in strength.
2. Coefcient of friction and the rate of wear must be acceptably low.

Solid lubricants in use are self-lubricating composites. These composites are

classifed as polymer, metal-solid, carbon and graphite, and ceramic and
cermet.
POLYMERS
These lubricants are suitable to bear light loads. With recent advances in
polymers, polymers make the largest group of solid lubricants.

There are two main limitations of solid lubricants which must be accounted
before selecting polymers as solid lubricants.
Low thermal conductivity of polymers inhibits heat dissipation, which causes
premature failure due to melting.
Two polymers in sliding contact will normally operate at signifcantly at
reduced speeds than a polymer against a metal surface.

In polymer, sub class of solid lubricants, PTFE, Nylon and Synthetic polymers
are common solid lubricants.

Semi-Solid Lubricants
Grease is a black or yellow sticky mass used in the bearings for
lubrication purpose. Lubricating greases consist of lubricating oils, often
of quite low viscosity, which have been thickened by means of fnely
dispersed solids called thickeners. It consist of base oils (75 to 95%),
additives (0 to 5%) and minute thickener fbers (5 to 20%).

Liquid lubricants
Vegetable (Castor, Rapeseed) oils:
- Less stable (rapid oxidation) than mineral oils at high temp
- Contain more natural boundary lubricants than mineral oils.
Animal fats: These are fatty substances extracted from animals, and
fsh. They are composed of fatty acids and alcohols. They are called
fxed oils because they do not volatilize unless they decompose. This
process is known as drying. The fxed oils which are slow to dry (slow in
oxidation) are used for lubrication. Fixed oils are usually added to
mineral oils to improve flm formation as these lubricants have extreme
pressure properties. Common examples of these lubricants are tallow,
castor oil and fsh oil. One of major problem of this class of lubricants in
the availability.
Mineral oils.

Defnition of various properties of fuels and lubricants

1. Flash point

The fash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at

which vapors of a fuid will ignite. Measuring a fash point requires an
ignition source.
There are two basic types of fash point measurement: open cup and
closed cup.
At the fash point, the vapor may cease to burn when the ignition source
is removed. Neither the fash point nor the fre point is dependent on the
temperature of the ignition source, which is much higher.
Liquids which have a fash point less than 37.8 or 60.5 C (100.0 or
140.9 F), depending on the standard that is used, are called fammable
whereas liquids having a fash point above that temperature are
called combustible.

2. Fire point
The fre point of a fuel is the temperature at which the vapor produced
by that given fuel will continue to burn for at least 5 seconds after
ignition by an open fame.
At the fash point, a lower temperature, a substance will ignite briefy,
but vapor might not be produced at a rate to sustain the fre.
In general the fre points can be assumed to be about 10 C higher than
the fash points.
3. Freezing point
Freezing point is the temperature at which a liquid turns into a solid
when cooled.
OR
It is
the temperature at which a liquid of specifed composition solidifes und
er a fxed pressure, usually standard pressure.
OR

It is
the temperature at any fxed pressure at which the liquid and solid phas
es of a substance of specifed composition are in equilibrium.

4. Boiling point
The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor
pressure of the liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the
liquid changes into a vapor.
The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding
environmental pressure.
For a given pressure, diferent liquids boil at diferent temperatures.
5. Density
The density, or more precisely, the volumetric mass density, of a
substance is its mass per unit volume.
The density of a material varies with temperature and pressure. This
variation is typically small for solids and liquids but much greater for
gases.
Increasing the pressure on an object decreases the volume of the object
and thus increases its density.
Increasing the temperature of a substance (with a few exceptions)
decreases its density by increasing its volume.
In most materials, heating the bottom of a fuid results in convection of the
heat from the bottom to the top, due to the decrease in the density of the
heated fuid. This causes it to rise relative to more dense unheated material.

6. Viscosity
The viscosity of a fuid is a measure of its resistance to gradual
deformation by shear stress or tensile stress.
For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness".
Viscosity is a property arising from collisions between neighboring
particles in a fuid
that are moving at diferent velocities. When the fuid is
forced through a tube, the particles which compose the fuid generally move
more quickly near the tube's axis and more slowly near its walls: therefore
some stress, (such as a pressure diference between the two ends of the tube),
is needed to overcome the friction between particle layers to keep the fuid
moving. For the same velocity pattern, the stress required is proportional to
the fuid's viscosity.
7. Vapor pressure
Vapor pressure or equilibrium vapor pressure is defned as
the pressure exerted by a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its
condensed phases (solid or liquid) at a given temperature in a closed
system. The equilibrium vapor pressure is an indication of a liquid's
evaporation rate.
It relates to the tendency of particles to escape from the liquid (or a
solid).
A substance with a high vapor pressure at normal temperatures is often
referred to as volatile.
The pressure exhibited by vapor present above a liquid surface is known
as vapor pressure.
As the temperature of a liquid increases, the kinetic energy of its
molecules also increases. As the kinetic energy of the molecules
increases, the number of molecules transitioning into a vapor also

increases, thereby increasing the vapor pressure.

8. Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical
substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent
to form a solution of the solute in the solvent.
The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the physical
and chemical properties of the solute and solvent as well as on temperature,
pressure and the pH of the solution.
9. Cetane number
Cetane number or CN is an indicator of the combustion speed of diesel
fuel. It is an inverse of the similar octane rating for gasoline (petrol).
Cetane number or CN is an inverse function of a fuel's ignition delay,
and the time period between the start of injection and the frst
identifable pressure increase during combustion of the fuel.
In a particular diesel engine, higher cetane fuels will have shorter
ignition delay periods than lower Cetane fuels.
In short, the higher the Cetane number the more easily the fuel will
combust in a compression setting (such as a diesel engine). The
characteristic diesel "knock" occurs when fuel that has been injected
into the cylinder ignites after a delay causing a late shock wave.
Minimizing this delay results in less unburned fuel in the cylinder and
less intense knock. Therefore higher-cetane fuel usually causes an
engine to run more smoothly and quietly. This does not necessarily
translate into greater efciency, although it
Generally, diesel engines operate well with a CN from 40 to 55.
10. Surface tension

Surface tension is the elastic tendency of a fuid surface which makes

it acquire the least surface area possible. At liquid-air interfaces, surface
tension results from the greater attraction of liquid molecules to each
other (due to cohesion) than to the molecules in the air (due
to adhesion). The net efect is an inward force at its surface that causes
the liquid to behave as if its surface were covered with a stretched
elastic membrane.

11. Organoleptic
Organoleptic properties are the aspects of food, water or other
substances that an individual experiences via the sensesincluding
taste, sight, smell, and touch.
12. Price
Price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to
another in return for goods or services.

Details of various fuels:

Property

Diesel

Petrol

LPG

CNG

Biodiesel

Ethanol

Biogas

Density
(kg/L)

0.852

0.715

0.525

0.435

0.86-0.90

0.789

0.00115

Flash Point 52-96

(C)

-43

-60

161.6

130

18

650

Property

Diesel

Petrol

LPG

CNG

Biodiesel

Ethanol

biogas

Fire Point
(C)

78

-35

-55

-150

196

30

660

Freezing
Point(C)

-8.1

-40

-60

-182

-1

-114

-182

Boiling
Point (C)

180360 95

-42

161.6

330-357

78

-161.48

Viscosity
(cSt)

3.01

0.0074

0.0172

4.43

1.144

1.10

Propane

Methane

Fatty acid
methyl esters

C2H5OH

Methane

0.5

Compositio Paraffin, isooctane,

n
naphtha butane, 3-

Property

Diesel

Petrol

LPG

lene
and
alkyl
benzene

ethyltoluene Butane
, and the
octane enha
ncer MTBE

CNG

Biodiesel

Ethanol

(FAME)

biogas
(50-75%)
CO2
(25-50%),

C12H23

N2 (1-10%)

Vapour
Pressure
(kPa)

1-10

70

220

-NA-

0.121

5.95

13.02

Ignition
Limits

1.4-7.6

0.6-7.5

2.1-8.4

5-15

3-8

3.3-19

5-15

Organolept Odour
Sweet,
ic
and
euphoric
irritant odour
emission
s

Colour
and
Odour

Odour

Toxic odour

Distinctive
perfume-like
odour

Rotten eggs (H2

smell

Cetane
Number

0-5

-2

46-52

0.29

16

7.6

27

22

163.8/gallon

49.5/L

(% by vol.
of air)

40-55

Surface
25
Tension
(dynes/cm)
Price
(Rs./unit)

46.12/L 61.2/L

608.5/cylin 49.5/kg
der

Methods for measuring fuel and lubricants properties as per ASTM

standards
Property

Density

ASTM
Standar
d
D4052

Measureme
nt
techniques
Digital

142/gallon

Flash point D7094

Fire point

D92

Freezing
point

D5972

Boiling
point

D3910

Viscosity

D4683

Compositi
on
Vapor
pressure
Ignition
limits
Organolep
tic
Solubility
Cetane
number
Surface
tension

D2650
D323-15a

density meter
Continuously
closed cup
fash point
tester
Cleveland
open cup
apparatus
Automatic
phase
transition
method
Gas
chromatogra
phy
Tapered
Bearing
simulator
Mass
spectrometry
Reid method

D481415a
E619
D2042
D61315ae1
D971-12

Ring method

CONCLUSION
Thus the Properties and the measuring methods of fuels and lubricants
were studied.