self sealing gas tanks

[FLYBOYJ]

Bottled gas systems have also been used in a/c for tank inerting, regulators having been going back and forth on a rule that all airliners have this since the TWA Flight 800 disaster, apparently from an explosive atmosphere in a fuel tank and source of spark from malfunctioning deepwell pump. US carriers had similar systems, using CO2, even at the beginning of WWII.

The only system as such I ever heard of is a portion of cooled bleed air being ducted back to the fuel tanks to keep "head pressure" on the fuel within the tanks not only ensuring a positive flow from the tanks but reducing fumes. Mind you this system is on turbine aircraft or turbo props. I did work on P2Vs very briefly and don't recall any type of fuel tank purge on that aircraft, but then again all we did was get it ready for a ferry flight.

As far as inert gasses being used in current airlines, I don't think its happening except for newer airliners. (Mind you I've been out of Heavy aircraft maintenance for about 4 years now). I do know that the C-5 and the C-17 has such as system, but some of the airliners and larger military aircraft I've worked on (DC-9, 10, B727, P-3 and C-130) did not have such a system (or at least to my memory).

 

[Kurfürst]

This is the fuel tank of the 109E, originally posted by George Hopp.

I am not expert on this but it looks like to me as being made of rubber, and given the 110's case shown by HoHun above, I suppose it's a self sealing one, too.

Unfortunately, contemporary reports of the 109E do not address the question of protection much, what is clear is that the aircraft had armor plating behind it's fuel tanks in the fuselage (which also provided protection for the pilot).

 

[renrich]

Self sealing tanks besides reducing fuel carried also added a good deal of weight, one reason the F4F4 weighed considerably more than the early F4F3s w/o self sealing tanks.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

When I worked for Flight Systems, we were droning F-4s. Some of the aircraft droned had a self sealing tanks that had a "foam" within the tank. One of the things we had to do was remove this stuff. If my memory serves me right it was mainly on the RF-4s. The mechanics who had to do this job hated it...

 

[Sgt. Pappy]

If I manage to get some tickets for the bus tomorrow, I'll be sure to get my arse into the museum at which I work. It's my day off but being a Spitfire finatic, I'm going to check the History of Spitfire production, modifications and serial numbers manual.... HUGE book... over 700 pgs with 15" x 12" size, size 10 font

From what I know, the only Spitfire I's that had self-sealing tanks had only the lower tank sealed and not all of them had it. Spitfire V's, you must remember, were often only modified in that they carried the new engine and its accommodations (i.e. larger oil cooler). The bottom tank was sealed like on the I and II. Not sure about the IX.

 

[pbfoot]

I tried every book on the spit we had at Russells and the best info was the original I tried to look at it but the panels covering the fuel tank were on so I had no joy you can see what I mean

 

[mad_max]

Pappy,

I think your on to something about the top tank. If I remember I read about that tank causing
many badly burned pilots. It was right in front of the bulkhead behind the instrument
panel and fumes and of course flames would blow back into the cockpit.

Of course I maybe quite wrong also!

 

[HoHun]

Hi Joe,

>I've read that some Corsairs also had an exhaust gas inerting system, exhaust gas rich in CO2 (but mostly inert nitrogen, just like the intake air), recirulated to the fuel tanks.

This link mentions CO2 fire suppression system as well as the retro-fitting of self-sealing liners in Japanese H6K flying boats:

Lt. Tsuneo Hitsuji - Shootout Between H6K5 Mavis and B-17

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[HoHun]

Hi again,

>(As so often, McIndoe worked wonders in the treatment of the author of "Guinea Pigs". Wish I'd remember the name - unfortunately, I have mislaid the book. It really made a deep impression on me.)

I just found the book - it's "Tale of a Guinea Pig" by Geoffrey Page.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)