JPH0840394A - Fuel transport device of aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively control the center of gravity of an aircraft and inertia moment by quickly transporting a fuel, and to take emergency measure when a fuel tank is damaged. CONSTITUTION:A fuel transport device comprises a fuel tank 20 formed by plural divided small chambers 1 communicating with each other through communicating holes, expansible and contractible air bags 2 provided in each small chamber, and a pressurizing means for pressurizing the interior of the air bags. A plurality of above units are provided, and fuel tanks 20 of the units are connected to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an aircraft fuel transportation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows an example of a fuel transportation device used in a conventional aircraft. When the fuel is transferred from the fuel tank 016 to the fuel tank 016a, the valve 015 is opened and the fuel is transferred via the oil supply pipe 013 using the pump 014.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional fuel oil delivery system for aircraft, the fuel transfer speed is slow, and it cannot be used for the center of gravity control or the moment of inertia control of the aircraft and cannot contribute to the improvement of maneuverability of the aircraft. . In addition, emergency measures are inadequate when the fuel tank is damaged, and the oil pipe also requires multiple systems.

The present invention is intended to provide a fuel transportation device for an aircraft which can solve the above problems.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The fuel transportation device for an aircraft of the present invention has taken the following means. (1) A fuel tank including a plurality of divided small chambers communicating with each other, an expandable / reducible air pack provided in each small chamber, and a pressurizing unit for pressurizing the inside of the air pack are provided. Is characterized by. (2) A unit including a fuel tank composed of a plurality of divided small chambers communicating with each other, an expandable / reducible air pack provided in each small chamber, and a pressurizing unit for pressurizing the inside of the air pack. A plurality of fuel tanks are provided, and the fuel tanks of the plurality of units are connected to each other.

[0006]

In the present invention (1), the fuel in each of the small chambers is rapidly expanded by pressurizing and expanding the inside of any of the air packs provided in each of the small chambers. Will be transported to a small room that has not been deployed. As a result, the fuel in the fuel tank is transported at high speed in the plurality of small chambers, and the center of gravity and the moment of inertia are controlled. Further, when the fuel tank is damaged, the loss and ignition of the fuel can be minimized by expanding and sealing the air pack in the small chamber near the damaged part. Further, when the fuel in the fuel tank decreases due to the flight of the aircraft, it is possible to appropriately expand the air pack in each small chamber to prevent the generation of voids in the fuel tank and suppress the vibration of the fuel.

In the present invention (2), since a plurality of the units of the present invention (1) are provided and these fuel tanks are connected to each other, in addition to the operation of the present invention (1), a plurality of units are provided. The fuel can be rapidly transported also in the fuel tank, and the center of gravity and the moment of inertia can be controlled more effectively.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 20 denotes an aircraft fuel tank, which is provided in plural in a main wing, a fuselage, etc. as shown by parallel hatching in FIG. 1, and these are appropriately connected to each other by an oil feeding pipe 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel tank 20 is composed of a plurality of small chambers 1 communicating with each other through a plurality of communication holes 1a. Each small chamber 1 is connected to a pipe 23, and the pipe 23 An opening that penetrates the tank outer wall 21 of the small chamber 1 serves as a gas intake / exhaust port 3.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pipe 23 has a portion for supplying nitrogen gas from the inside of the machine body, a portion for supplying high pressure gas from the engine from the inside of the machine body, a portion for discharging nitrogen gas and the high pressure gas. The gas intake / exhaust port 3 has a nitrogen gas intake valve 1
0, a high pressure gas intake valve 12, a nitrogen gas exhaust valve 11 and a high pressure gas exhaust valve 13 are provided, and these valves are independently controlled by a flight computer in the aircraft.

An air pack 2 described below is arranged in each small room 1. That is, a plurality of aluminum frames 7 each having a shape substantially equal to the cross section of the small chamber 1 are arranged in the small chamber 1, and the outer skin 8 is provided around the plurality of frames 7 and on the air pack outer wall 24 attached to the tank outer wall 21. It is attached, and the outer skin 8 has a portion projecting from the frame 7 at the tip. The outer cover 8 is made of synthetic rubber that is excellent in pressure resistance and water pressure, has flexibility, and can be expanded / contracted (expanded / contracted). The frame 7, outer skin 8 and air pack outer wall 24 constitute the air pack 2.
The high pressure gas intake valve 12 and the high pressure gas exhaust valve 13 are opened in the air pack 2, and the high pressure gas of the engine is supplied from the high pressure gas intake valve 12 into the air pack 2. When the internal pressure is increased, the small chamber 1 is expanded to occupy the whole area of the small chamber 1, and the high pressure gas exhaust valve 13 exhausts the inside of the air pack 2 to reduce the internal pressure when the internal pressure is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the air pack 2, a second air pack made of a synthetic rubber film having excellent pressure resistance and water resistance and being flexible and capable of expanding and contracting (expanding and contracting). 6 is arranged. The second air pack 6 has a base end fixed to the air pack outer wall 24 by a mounting portion 6a.
The tip portion is fixed to the tip portion of the air pack 2 protruding from the frame 6 at the tip by a mounting portion 6b. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the mounting portion 6 of the second air pack 6 is
a is the nitrogen gas intake valve 10 and the nitrogen gas exhaust valve 11
When the nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas intake valve 10 into the second air pack 6, the second air pack 6 is opened by the internal pressure as shown in FIG. 7B. , And occupies almost the entire area of small room 1,
As shown in (a), when the inside of the second air pack 6 is exhausted from the nitrogen gas exhaust valve 11 to reduce the internal pressure, the inside of the air pack 2 is reduced.

In FIGS. 1 to 7, white arrows indicate the direction of oil flow in the fuel tank 20, and solid and dotted arrows indicate the direction of gas flow.

In the present embodiment constructed as described above, one fuel tank 20 to another fuel tank 20
When sending oil to the high pressure gas intake valve 12 of the fuel tank 20 as shown in FIG.
Open the high pressure gas from the engine to either small room 1
The air pack 2 is supplied to the air pack 2 and the air pack 2 is expanded. As a result, the fuel in the small room 1 is pushed out to the other small room 1 through the communication hole 1a and further sent to the other fuel tank 20 through the oil pipe 4 as shown by the white arrow. .

At this time, since the high-pressure gas of the engine is supplied to the air pack 2, the expansion of the air pack 2 and the fuel supply by this are carried out at high speed. In this way, fuel is fed between the fuel tanks 20 at high speed, and the control of the moment of inertia of the center of gravity of the aircraft can be effectively performed.

When the fuel supply is completed, the high pressure gas exhaust valve 13 is opened to exhaust the gas in the air pack 2, while the nitrogen gas intake valve 10 is opened to release the nitrogen gas into the second air pack 6. After filling, the second air pack 6 is expanded as shown in FIG. 7B, and the inside of the air pack 2 is filled with the second air pack 6.
Increase the explosion-proof property by filling with.

When the fuel in the fuel tank 20 is reduced, the nitrogen gas intake valve 10 of each small chamber 1 is opened to supply the nitrogen gas into the second air pack 6, as shown in FIG. The second air pack 6 is partially unfolded so that the formation of voids in the fuel tank 20 can be prevented and the vibration of the fuel can be prevented. Also, the fuel tank 20
The nitrogen gas intake valve 10 is opened to supply the nitrogen gas to the second air pack 6 in any one of the small chambers 1 to deploy the nitrogen gas, and the nitrogen gas is supplied from the second air pack 6 in the other small chamber 1 to the nitrogen gas. By opening the exhaust valve 11 and reducing it, the fuel can be moved within the same fuel tank 20. Thereby, the distribution of fuel in the same fuel tank 20 is adjusted, and the center of gravity and the moment of inertia of the aircraft can be controlled.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the fuel tank 20
In the case where the damaged portion 5 occurs, the air pack 2 in the small chamber 1 near the damaged portion 5 is expanded by the high pressure gas of the engine to seal the small chamber 1 near the damaged portion 5 at high speed. Fuel loss and ignition can be prevented. In this case, after the air pack 2 is deployed, the second air pack 6 is filled with nitrogen gas while exhausting the air pack 2 as in the case of the fuel feeding between the fuel tanks 20. By deploying the two air packs 6, it is possible to keep the small chamber 1 sealed, fill the small chamber 1 with nitrogen gas, prevent the loss of fuel, and enhance the explosion proof property.

In the above-described embodiment, the double air pack 2 and the second air pack 6 are provided, but on the other hand, for example, the second air pack can be omitted.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing the structure described in claims 1 and 2, the fuel can be transported at high speed in the fuel tank and between the plurality of fuel tanks. It is possible to change the center of gravity and moment of inertia of the aircraft at high speed and freely, which contributes to improvement of maneuverability of the aircraft and reduction of structural weight and resistance. In addition, when the fuel tank is damaged, emergency measures with explosion-proof properties are possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an aircraft including a fuel transportation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state when fuel is fed between the fuel tanks of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state of the fuel when vibration is prevented in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state when the fuel tank of the embodiment is damaged.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an air pack of the same embodiment, FIG. 5 (a) is a developed view and FIG. 5 (b) is a reduced view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a gas intake / exhaust port of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a second air pack of the same embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state when contracted and FIG. 7B is a perspective view showing a state when expanded.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a conventional fuel transportation device for an aircraft.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Small Room 1a Communication Hole 2 Air Pack 3 Gas Intake and Exhaust Port 4 Oil Pipe 5 Fuel Tank Damaged Part 6 Second Air Pack 6a, 6b Second Air Pack Attachment 7 Frame 8 Outer Skin 10 Nitrogen Gas Intake Valve 11 Nitrogen Gas Exhaust valve 12 High-pressure gas intake valve 13 High-pressure gas exhaust valve 20 Fuel tank 21 Tank outer wall 23 Piping 24 Air pack outer wall

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fuel tank comprising a plurality of divided small chambers communicating with each other, an expandable / reducible air pack provided in each small chamber, and a pressurizing unit for pressurizing the inside of the air pack. A fuel transportation device for an aircraft characterized by the above. 2. A fuel tank comprising a plurality of divided small chambers communicating with each other, an expandable / reducible air pack provided in each small chamber, and a pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the air pack. A fuel transportation device for an aircraft, comprising a plurality of units, wherein fuel tanks of the plurality of units are connected to each other.