Molecular dynamics simulation study on the dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity of high-energy hydrocarbon fuel Al/JP-10

MR Wen and HH Jin and S Wang and JR Fan, FUEL, 386, 134236 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2024.134236

Liquid hydrocarbon fuels with the addition of high-energy solid particles have emerged as high-energy hydrocarbon fuels utilized in long-range, high-thrust propulsion systems, yet the thermophysical properties of highenergy hydrocarbon fuels at high temperatures and pressures are still not well understood. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to study the thermophysical properties of high-energy hydrocarbon fuels, aviation kerosene JP-10 mixed with aluminium (Al) nanoparticles. The results show that the OPLS (Optimized Potentials for Liquid Simulations) force field provides superior accuracy in modelling the hightemperature behaviour of high- energy hydrocarbon fuels, as compared to the GAFF2 (General Amber Force Field 2) force field. The addition of Al nanoparticles significantly enhances the dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity of high-energy hydrocarbon fuels, particularly at elevated temperatures. Increasing the mass fraction of Al enhances the heat transfer efficiency of high-energy hydrocarbon fuels. Additionally, increasing the Al nanoparticle size decreases the dynamic viscosity of high-energy hydrocarbon fuels. At higher temperatures, Al particles interact more strongly with JP-10 molecules, slowing down density decrease and improving fuel stability. The findings offer valuable insights for the development of high-energy hydrocarbon fuels in hightemperature, high-pressure applications.

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