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Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army to develop a high pressure common rail fuel pump that has an increased operational lifespan when pumping JP-8 jet fuel.
The Army requires a High Pressure Common Rail (HPCR) fuel pump for combat and tactical vehicle engines that is capable of operating with F-24/JP-8 fuel. Existing fuel-lubricated HPCR pumps have experienced accelerated wear and premature failure when running with F-24 due to its worse lubricity properties and lower viscosity than the diesel fuel, the pumps were designed for. In order to meet the Army’s needs, PSI has developed the High Pressure Bellows Pump (HPBP), which has an oil lubricated bottom end to increase the life of the pump. During the successful Phase I program, PSI fabricated and tested a reduced-flow-and-pressure breadboard prototype, completing 1.5 million cycles at a pressure of 12.5 bar and flow rate of 0.48 L/min, which mitigated the highest technical risks surrounding the pump dynamics and fatigue life. In the Phase II program, PSI will design and test a HPBP prototype that produces at least 1.3 L/min flow at a pressure of 2500 bar, which will allow the pump to directly integrate with over 200,000 DoD ground vehicles and commercial aviation platforms including the ULTV, JLTV, Grey Eagle UAV and Cessna 172 aircraft.
For more information contact:
Dr. Sean Torrez
Area Manager, Deployable Structures
storrez@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003
Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported under a contract with the United States Army. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.
