Tetradecane and n -Alkylbenzene Binary Mixtures: Densities, Speeds of Sound, and Viscosities within the Range of 288.15 and 333.15 K and at 0.1 MPa

Abstract

Surrogate fuel mixture design and combustion process modeling are enhanced with knowledge of the physical properties of mixtures of fuel components. The current study reports densities, speeds of sound, and viscosities of mixtures of tetradecane with n-alkylbenzenes. In general, densities, speeds of sound, and viscosities decreased with increasing temperature and increasing amounts of the component with the lower property value, except for ethylbenzene’s and n-propylbenzene’s speeds of sound where mixtures had the lowest values. Some mixture densities fell within the military diesel fuel specification. The range of mixture bulk moduli suggests that their injection behavior in an engine may be affected. Mixture excess molar volumes (VmE’s) and excess isentropic compressibilities (κsE’s) decreased and excess speeds of sound (cE’s) increased with an increase in n-alkylbenzene size. A positive linear relationship was found in the relationship between the κsE’s and VmE’s of equimolar mixtures of tetradecane and n-alkylbenzenes, which shows the impact of molar packing and volume changes on compressibility. These results will aid those designing surrogate fuel mixtures and modeling engine combustion processes.