Modeling Wing Tank Flammability

Dadia, Dhaval

i

Modeling Wing Tank Flammability

2009-10-01
By Dadia, Dhaval

File Language:

English

Details

Creators:

Dadia, Dhaval
Corporate Creators:

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration
Subject/TRT Terms:

Aircraft Aircraft Operations Aircraft Wings Aviation Safety Civil Aviation Explosions Flammability Fuel Tanks
Publication/ Report Number:

DOT/FAA/AR-TT09/48
Resource Type:

Thesis
Geographical Coverage:

United States
Edition:

Technical Thesis
Corporate Publisher:

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center
Abstract:

An investigation into the fire safety of a wing fuel tank has been performed to aid in the effort to eliminate or reduce the possibility of a wing fuel tank explosion in a commercial aircraft. A computational model is built to predict the generation of flammable mixtures in the ullage of wing fuel tanks. The model predicts the flammability evolution within the tank based on in-flight conditions of a wing fuel tank. The model is validated through supporting experiments performed in an altitude chamber, the wind tunnel facility as well as data obtained from flight tests. The results from the experiments are compared to the computational results. Computational results from the altitude chamber follow the general trend of the experimental results but produce them at a different flash point. This is due to the replenishment of species with lower flash point at the surface of the fuel which emulates the flash point of the entire fuel to be lower. Experimental results for the aluminum wing tests from the wind tunnel experiments are in good agreement with the computational results as well.
Format:

PDF
Collection(s):

FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:8f48af6a41a4556d59cdc7b5a1236465da1086a499a04bc899ea5b3480020c235558c32f63685007c95a6b439e30a06128cb1498e653e18a7d3ec2c4b46d2252
Download URL:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90292/dot_90292_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.22 MB ]

File Language:

English

ON THIS PAGE

Details

ROSA P serves as an archival repository of USDOT-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by USDOT or funded partners. As a repository, ROSA P retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.