Effect of Surfactants/Gels on the Stability of Boron Particle Dispersion in Liquid Fuel

Metal-based nanofillers are used as disperssants to enhance thermal conductivity for a minimal fuel requirement to extract maximum energy. To achieve this, metal-based nanofillers must be suspended uniformly into jet fuel so that desired propulsive characteristics can be achieved. However, the dispersion of the metal-based nanofillers into the jet fuel is a critical challenge due to the density and viscosity that are independent parameters with a scattered relation. Hence, in the current work, we intended to investigate the propulsive characteristics of the JP-10 (Exo-Tetra Hydro Dicyclopentadiene) jet fuel dispersed with boron particles (BP) at various concentrations. The challenge involved in the current work was to make dispersion stable for a longer period due to the absence of functional groups entailed to BPs. Alongside JP-10, is a single-component, high-density hydrocarbon that can that can exhibit thixotropic characteristic in nature and hence combining with BP makes it difficult; hence, there is a need for oligomerization or the addition of surfactants that are derived from oligomers. Hence, in the current work, the BPs were dispersed in jet fuel by the ultrasound probe with various surfactants, namely Hydroxyl Terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB), Triton X-100, Span 80, Oleic acid, and Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), followed by an investigation of their stability. The experimental studies reported that the stability of the boron was longest, for 54 h, with 0.5 wt.% boron and 0.3 wt.% HTPB at a micron size of the boron particles (325 ± 25 nm). The uniform dispersion of the particles was achieved by the effect of the ultrasound probe. From the thermal analysis, a total weight loss of 25% was observed within a short range of temperatures, i.e., 50 to 200 °C.