New revisions to IP 565 for Particle Counting in

Jet Fuels improve accuracy

PARTICULATE IN JET FUELS – WHY IS MEASUREMENT SO IMPORTANT?

The issue of particulate contamination in Jet Fuel has long been recognised for its associated problems
affecting the fuel economy of aircrafts and causing maintenance down time issues. The appearance of
particulate material can affect fuel lines and filters which subsequently block the flow of fuel to the engine, it
can also cause fuel injection system problems reducing combustion efficiencies.

Particulate measurement is an established means of monitoring quality control and product release and is
classified by particle size. Laser obscuration has become an established method of measuring the
particulate contamination in fuels worldwide. The Energy Institute test method IP 565 for aviation turbine fuel
is referenced in the DEF STAN 91-91 Fuel Specification. The ASTM test method D7619 for middle distillate
fuels (which includes aviation turbine fuels) is also included in the D975 diesel specification for quality control
purposes.

LASER PARTICLE COUNT – THE PREFERRED TEST FOR SAMPLE DIAGNOSIS

Laser obscuration based particle counting methods

have a number of advantages over the traditional
gravimetric method; these include short test times,
simple operation and immediate results which
indicate particle size and distribution. Laser particle
counting uses the light emitted by a laser to
illuminate a cell through which the sample is
passed. Particles present in the sample cast a
shadow onto the sensor within the cell, and as the
particle passes across the cell the voltage output
of the sensor drops. The voltage drop of the cell is
proportional to the particle size and the size of the
particle is calculated based on this principle.

The availability of reliable automatic particle counting

apparatus and test methods, including AvCount and
IP 565, has made these test methods a viable option
for specification purposes. The improved precision of
these methods has resulted in some standardisation
authorities stating their intention to replace
gravimetric tests with laser obscuration particle
counting tests at the earliest opportunity.

DETERMINING THE LIMITS

Determining the limits that should be applied to laser obscuration particle counting test methods has
historically proved difficult. The wide variation of the density of particulates precludes an accurate correlation
between the established gravimetric limits and laser obscuration particle counts. A further complication is
that laser obscuration methods do not easily differentiate between particulates and dispersed water (free
water droplets).

E: info@seta-analytics.com T: +44 (0)1932 575000 F: +44 (0)1932 568363 W: www.seta-analytics.com

One proposal is that the limits should be similar to those of the World Wide Fuel Charter:- 18/16/13 (ISO
4406 Cleanliness Codes) at ≥4, ≥6 and ≥14µm(c) respectively, while others proposals have suggested more
stringent levels. However, research has shown that jet fuels that pass the gravimetric test could easily
exceed the proposed limits due to the presence of dispersed water, even though the volume of dispersed
water is within permitted limits.

In the past, it was considered that the dispersed water droplet size would tend to be ≥25µm(c) and therefore
would not interfere with the results for the ≥4, ≥6 and ≥14µm(c) size bands that are key in particle counting
analysis. However, the improved precision of modern laser obscuration particle counters has now shown
that the dispersed water can have a significant distribution in these smaller size bands, especially
downstream of high shear pumps.

THE EFFECT OF DISPERSED WATER ON PARTICLE COUNTS IN JET AND HOW TO NEGATE IT

Chart 1 below illustrates the effect of dispersed water on the particle count of a jet turbine fuel. The fuel had
been dosed with 0.5mg/l of ISO Medium Test Dust to give a moderate particle count and all three samples
are within ‘normal’ gravimetric particulate and dispersed water limits. However, whilst the sample with no
added dispersed water gives a cleanliness code of 17/15/10 (ISO 4406), the +20ppm dispersed water
sample gives a cleanliness coding of 20/20/18 (ISO 4406), and the +40ppm dispersed water sample gives a
cleanliness coding of 21/21/19 (ISO 4406) using laser obscuration methods.

21

ISO 4406
Codes
20

19

Particles/ml

Size µm(c)

Jet A1 + 0.5mg/l Dust

Chart 1: The Effect of Dispersed Water on Particle Counts in Jet A1

This summarises the problem; setting limits that are too low would risk failing clean but (acceptably) ‘wet’
fuels, whilst setting high limits to take into account the permitted levels of dispersed water would risk passing
a very dirty but ‘dry’ fuel.

E: info@seta-analytics.com T: +44 (0)1932 575000 F: +44 (0)1932 568363 W: www.seta-analytics.com

NEGATING THE EFFECT OF WATER ON PARTICLE COUNTING

One method of removing the effects of dispersed water is to dissolve it into the fuel. However, the fuel only
has a limited propensity to dissolve water and reaches saturation point quite quickly. This can be
circumvented by the use of a cosolvent that has an affinity to fuel and water.

Recent revisions to IP 565 have provided an optional procedure (Annex B) to eliminate the effects of water in
particle counting. Annex B describes the procedure for the addition of either a cosolvent or a proprietary
chemical to the sample to increase the accuracy of the particle count by eliminating free water interference.

The procedure is optional but shows good results so it is expected that many users will adopt it as a
standard procedure. Others may choose to only use it to clarify whether a high count was due to dirt or water
droplets.

For an example of the results see Chart 2 which illustrates the effect of adding 5.5% V/V cosolvent to the
water contaminated samples shown in Chart 1.

THE EFFECT OF ADDING COSOLVENT TO THE WATER CONTAMINATED SAMPLES

21

ISO 4406
Codes
20

19 Particles/ml

Size µm(c)

Jet A1 + 0.5mg/l Dust

Chart 2: The Effect of Cosolvent on Particle Counts in Water Contaminated Jet A1

The cosolvent treatment has successfully removed the effects of the dispersed water on the particle count.
In fact, the raw data shows that the count is slightly lower than the original fuel due to the removal of the
small amount of dispersed water that was present in the original sample.

Further tests show that the addition of 5.5% v/v cosolvent continues to be effective, even when the dispersed
water content exceeds the maximum levels normally permitted in jet turbine fuel, as shown in Chart 3.

E: info@seta-analytics.com T: +44 (0)1932 575000 F: +44 (0)1932 568363 W: www.seta-analytics.com

 22

ISO 4406
Codes
21 Particles/ml

20

19

Size µm(c)

Jet A1 + 0.5mg/l Dust

Chart 3: The Effect of 5.5% v/v Cosolvent on Particle Counts up to 100ppm Dispersed Water

THE FUTURE OF LASER PARTICLE COUNTING

The migration from gravimetric testing to laser based particle counting has been underpinned by work from
the Energy Institute (EI). In March the EI made two revisions to the Laser obscuration based particle
counting methods to improve the reliability of these test methods.

Revision 1 - Determining verification tolerance

The fuel industry methods of particle counting were derived from methods used for hydraulic oils originally
devised in the 1960s. At that time, the technology limitations were such that accuracy, repeatability and
reproducibility were relatively poor.

Furthermore a system of coding was introduced that converted particles/ml into cleanliness codes to make it
easier for an operator to report results. The problem was that these codes are quasi-logarithmic which allows
for a large range of particle counts to be covered by a single cleanliness code, the result is potentially
misleading tolerances.

Energy Institute investigations carried out during 2011 and 2012 revealed that more precise technology is
now available. Highly coherent solid state lasers, low noise electronics and advanced digital processing have
considerably improved the precision of laser obscuration instruments like AvCount. As a result, the EI has
revised the tolerances for calibration and verification.

The revised tolerance is statistically derived from the particle counts for the batch of verification material and
the reproducibility (R) of the test, whereas the previous particle count tolerance for verification was based on
the ISO cleanliness code. Using the reference standards recommended in ISO 11171 (the “core” ISO
governing the design and calibration of Automatic Particle Counters), a particle counter would be verified
using a material with a count of approximately 6000 @ ≥4µm(c). Using the “within 1 ISO cleanliness code”
tolerance, a count between 5001 and 10 000 particles/ml would be acceptable. Under the revised tolerances
the limit would be approximately 5400 to 6400 particles/ml @ ≥4µm(c).

E: info@seta-analytics.com T: +44 (0)1932 575000 F: +44 (0)1932 568363 W: www.seta-analytics.com

Revision 2 - IP 565 Annex B: Procedure to eliminate the effects of water in particle counting

IP 565 Annex B describes the procedure for the addition of either a cosolvent or a proprietary chemical to the
sample to increase the accuracy of the particle count by eliminating free water interference.

As discussed in the body of this article, water droplets in suspension could result in an unacceptably high
particle count, even though both the particulate and water content are within specification.

As a result of trials by the Energy Institute and particle counter manufacturers, it has been possible to
quantify the volume of cosolvent or chemical additive necessary to negate the effect of water on particle
counting in typical jet turbine fuels.

The procedure is optional so some users may adopt it as a standard procedure, whilst others may choose to
only use it to clarify whether a high count was due to dirt or water droplets.

EXTENSION OF TESTING INTO OTHER FUEL TYPES

The ASTM D7619 test method also covers diesels, bio-diesels and bio-diesel blends. These fuels suffer from
similar issues to jet turbine fuels. Diesels can contain greater levels of particulates, but they can also contain
a considerably greater volume of free water. This exacerbates the effect on the particle counting. Further,
free water droplets can cause severe damage to the latest generation extreme pressure injection systems.

The whole issue is further confused by the inclusion of bio-diesel. The fatty acid methyl esthers (FAME)
content has an effect on the solubility of water in the diesel.

A test program is currently underway to extend the co-solvent work into these fuels with conclusions
available late 2013.

For more information on AvCount visit www.seta-analytics.com

~ ENDS ~

E: info@seta-analytics.com T: +44 (0)1932 575000 F: +44 (0)1932 568363 W: www.seta-analytics.com