The Evolution of Military Naval Distillate Fuel

21 July 2021 | 10:00 AM ET

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Webinar Description:
Over the history of U.S. Navy ships, advances in propulsion technologies have served to drive the development of marine diesel fuels. The history of ship propulsion technologies ranges from human-powered oars to gas turbine engines which represent the most advanced propulsion and power systems that the U.S. Navy currently uses now and for the foreseeable future. Although sources for marine gas turbine fuels could run the gamut from natural gas to residual fuel oil, there are rigidly defined constraints for marine fuels that severely limit the actual potential fuel choices. Marine environmental conditions, U.S. EPA limitations and the implementation of renewable fuels have led the Navy to move towards the deployment of more highly refined, higher quality fuels now and in the future. The evolution of ship propulsion technologies, fuels and specifications will be reviewed from a Naval perspective.

Presenter: Robert E. Morris Sr., Scientist, Nova Research, Inc.

Image of presenter Robert Morris Dr. Morris is the former head of the Chemical Sensing and Fuel Technology Section at the Naval Research Laboratory. He has over 45 years of research experience involving the chemical behavior, characterization and handling of Navy mobility fuels, resulting in over 200 publications and reports, and 8 patents. Areas of his research have focused on a wide range of fundamental and mechanistic studies. Recent areas of research include development of improved sensing and modeling technologies to correlate critical fuel properties and engine performance to composition, and the development of advanced analytical tools for fuel diagnostics and prognostics. Since retiring from federal service and joining Nova Research, Dr. Morris continues to support the Navy mobility fuels program. He is also serving as Secretary of the International Association for Stability, Handling and Use of Liquid Fuels (IASH) and is Chairman of the Advanced Research and Test Methods group for aviation fuels in the Coordinating Research Council.