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JOURNAL ARTICLE

VOLATILITY TESTS FOR AUTOMOBILE

FUELS
T. S. Sligh Jr.
SAE Transactions
Vol. 21, PART II (1926), pp. 182-217 (36 pages)
Published By: SAE International
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44729941
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Abstract
Elementary theories regarding the evaporation characteristics of pure substances and mixed
liquids are discussed briefly and the difficulties likely to be encountered in attempts to calculate
the volatilities of motor fuels from data relating to pure substances or in the extrapolation of
volatility data corresponding to the atmospheric boiling-range of the fuel to the range of
temperatures encountered in utilization of the fuel are pointed out. A brief review of previous
methods of arriving at fuel volatility is also presented. Volatility, as applied to motor fuels, is
defined as being measured by the percentage of a given quantity of the fuel which can be
evaporated under equilibrium conditions into a specified volume. The weight of air under known
pressures is taken as a convenient measure of the volume. The new method described is an
equilibrium distillation of the fuel in the presence of a known weight of air. The fuel is supplied
at a predetermined rate by displacement from a reservoir by the fall of a clock-controlled
cylinder, and flows into a long metal helix immersed in a bath at the temperature of the test. Air
is also delivered to this helix at a predetermined rate, as measured by a small-orifice meter.
Evaporation takes place to equilibrium, and the uncondensed fuel is drained from the lower end
of the helix and measured. By such means the distillation curve for the fuel in any desired air-
fuel mixture can be determined accurately. Data are presented for five fuels of varied
characteristics which had also been used in engine tests of starting volatility. Such volatility data
will be useful in connection with studies of engine performance, carburetion, the blending of
fuels, and the production of fuels for specified performance. The importance of the very low end
of the distillation curve for the fuel that is distributed generally throughout the United States is
emphasized in the discussion.

Publisher Information
SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical
experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core
competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE
International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including
A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.

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SAE Transactions © 1926 SAE International
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