Methods and systems for indicating and determining fuel properties

摘要

Methods and systems for use in indicating and/or determining fuel properties. One or more physical properties of a fuel are determined and indicated using taggants that are added to the fuel, such as by encoding the properties in the taggants or by encoding an identifier in the taggants and associating the properties with the identifier. The taggants are detected by a taggant sensor, and the physical properties are determined based on the detected taggants. A concentration of the taggants in the fuel may also be determined.

主权项

1. A system for use in determining one or more fuel properties, said system comprising:
a taggant sensor configured to detect a plurality of taggants in a blend of fuel that includes a first batch of fuel and a second batch of fuel; and a computing device coupled to said taggant sensor and programmed to:
determine a physical property of the blend of fuel based on (i) information encoded in the plurality of taggants and (ii) determining a first concentration of a first set of the plurality of taggants associated with the first batch of fuel and a second concentration of a second set of the plurality of taggants associated with the second batch of fuel; andpredict a performance, including estimated maintenance data, of an engine using the blend of fuel, based on the determined physical property and mechanical wear of one or more components; and wherein a user performs a maintenance event based on the predicted performance.