Aviation fuel and gasoline powering military planes and vehicles could be infused with an additive that will cut the risk or severity of secondary explosions, including those caused by IED attacks.<\/p>\n
Researchers at CalTech and the Joint Propulsion Lab \u2013 working in conjunction with the Army \u2013 have developed a new type of polymer that, in jet fuel, would limit the \u201cmisting\u201d that occurs with spills and crash and which may instantly engulf an entire aircraft in a ball of flame.<\/span><\/p>\n In ground vehicles, researcher Prof. Julia Kornfield said, the fuel additive would reduce the intensity of secondary explosions following a crash or IED attack.<\/p>\n \u201cSo far, the information we have, is pertinent to diesel fuel,\u201d Kornfield said in a series of briefings available on the CalTech website. \u201cWhere you have collisions that involved the fuel, it might mitigate the initial fire so people can walk away, and you might have the fire burn more slowly afterward \u2026 so people can walk away.\u201d<\/p>\n Testing required to win government approval for ground vehicles already is underway. In Warren, Michigan, scientists with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center has begun testing the polymer-added fuel, according to CalTech.<\/p>\n