Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Thorsten Schuetz

Markus Lindner

Reiner Essinger

Wolfgang Oelerich

Mirko Schwan

Thomas Guelll

A seal for a vessel is disclosed which militates against a leakage of fluid during expansion and contraction of the vessel due to changes pressure and temperature. Inner sealing surfaces of the seal form substantially fluid-tight seals in response to at least one of temperatures below a predetermined temperature and pressures below a predetermined pressure and outer sealing surfaces of the seal form substantially fluid-tight seals in response to at least one of temperatures above the predetermined temperature and pressures above the predetermined pressure.

Temperature and pressure responsive seal

A fuel tank assembly includes a fuel tank, a bracket carried by the fuel tank and having a portion accessible from the outside of the fuel tank to permit the assembly to be mounted to a vehicle, and an outer layer disposed around at least part of the fuel tank and a portion of the bracket to connect the bracket to the fuel tank. In one implementation, the fuel tank includes layers of composite material that have fibers embedded in resin or the like. The bracket is carried or trapped between adjacent layers of the composite material so that the bracket is fixed to the tank. The bracket preferably is connected to the tank at one end and is flexible in at least one direction to accommodate changes in the shape or dimensions of the fuel tank.

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Selzen, Germany

Thorsten Schuetz