The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 10, 1999
Filed:
Dec. 01, 1995
Stuart E Kari, Kent, WA (US);
Gerould K Young, Seattle, WA (US);
The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
An aircraft fuel tank construction for providing enhanced fuel tank survivability and aircraft structural integrity when the fuel tank is penetrated by an exploding projectile, utilizes selective placement of low density, fluid-displacing material to create a low shock impedance region which decouples protected fuel tank structure from the destructive effects of a shock wave. The low shock impedance region may be formed using closed cell foam, or using isolators comprising bladders inflated with a compressible, inert gas. Such bladders should have a wedge shape and a wedge angle of at least 15 degrees. Precise shape is less important with closed cell foam. Polymethylacrilimide has been shown to be particularly effective for this purpose. Finite element analysis is useful in tuning the design of actual low shock impedance regions for actual aircraft designs. This construction is especially useful in fuel tanks manufactured from composite materials where tank wall pull-off from internal spars and stiffeners is the primary mode of catastrophic structural failure.