DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Propane and propane accessories have many common uses ranging from residential central heating and hot water systems to portable stoves and gas grills. However, the Air Force is taking part in a study to gather data points on propane use in the Air Force’s inventory of fleet vehicles.
Dover AFB, along with Keesler AFB, Mississippi, were selected to participate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense Propane Initiative. Dover AFB will partake in yearlong study to measure the effects of propane in diesel and gasoline engines.
First Lt. Evan Glenn, 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Management Flight commander, is leading the OSD Propane Initiative at Dover AFB and outlined some of the goals of the study.
“OSD partnered with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences and are looking to get data points on how propane use in vehicles affects things like fuel efficiency, towing capacity, torque and other vehicle specific factors,” said Glenn. “The end goal is so that the Air Force can take a look and say ‘Is this something we want to have viable for the entire fleet or is this something that we are not quite ready yet for the infrastructure?’”
The 436th LRS has already begun installing propane rigs on vehicles at Dover AFB. Glenn said that all the vehicles chosen for the study will be outfitted with propane by early September.
“Dover has a total of 40 vehicles that we are outfitting for the project,” said Glenn. “Primarily, they are vehicles from [the civil engineer squadron] and from maintenance. Those vehicles include the bobtails that you primarily see out on the flight line, CE ops trucks and larger vehicles like dump trucks.”
Airman 1st Class Ricardo Magana B, 436th LRS vehicle maintenance, is one of the Airman installing the propane kits onto Dover vehicles. He said effects of propane in diesel engines is similar to the effects of nitrous oxide in gasoline engines.
“Propane a cleaner type of gas,” said Magana B. “It enriches the air-fuel mixture that goes into the engine before the explosion per se. Because the mixture is richer, you are going to get more horsepower and torque out of it. Also, the exhaust is going to be cleaner too because of the richer mixture.”
The addition of propane results in a more completed diesel combustion efficiency, raising it from 70-75 percent to more than 90 percent with propane.
Data statistics that are gathered during the study will be reported back to the NCMS along with other contract partners approximately once per month. Glenn said specific vehicles were chosen for the study to help gather accurate data points.
“When we were choosing vehicles for this study we purposely chose a vehicle that had a counterpart that wouldn’t be outfitted at all,” said Glenn. “So we have a control vehicle and one that is outfitted with propane, we will be able to look back and say this vehicle used this many gallons of diesel and this many gallons of propane over this many miles so this is its mile per gallon of diesel and mile per gallon of propane whereas the control is just straight miles per gallon for diesel.”
Once the study is complete, it will be up to the Air Force to decide if propane will be a sustainable option for future use.
“We have no obligation to keep the technology installed on our vehicles,” said Glenn. “At the end of the year, the Air Force will have a decision to make whether we to keep the technology or call it quits.”