Fuel tank

The fuel tank must be resistant to corrosion, mechanical impact, temperature fluctuations, and internal pressure increases. Caps must not permit fuel to escape when the vehicle is turning, traveling up and down steep grades, or when subjected to minor jolts. Also, the tank must be fitted with appropriate relief valves to permit the escape of excessive pressure. 

To help ensure resistance to impact and internal pressure increases, plastic tank wall thickness is greater than steel tank thickness. Plastic tanks are typically 4 mm in thickness, whereas steel tanks are somewhat less than 1 mm in thickness. Plastic tanks, however, are considerably lighter in weight. 

Although there is no worldwide standard under which fuel filters are manufactured, most contain a hydrophobic paper element with a porosity ranging from approximately 5 to 15 microns with an average porosity of about 8 microns. The porosity of filters used in distributor-type fuel pumps is smaller and generally ranges from 4 to 5 microns. 

The paper elements can be folded into various forms which appear as pleated, star-shaped or V-shaped patterns. These elements are wrapped or coiled around a central porous metal core. Fuels generally flow from the outside shell of the filter inward through the filter media and up through the central core of the filter to the fuel pump feed line. 

Other filter designs such as the stacked-disk filter exist, but are not common. 

Statistics on full year 2002 wholesale shipments of new boats activity was down about 5% compared to the prior year. Industry spokespeople report that consumer confidence and discretionary spending was affected by the events of September 11, 2001 Twin Tower disaster that carried over into 2002 boat sales. The weak state of the economy also compelled many buyers to defer buying-decisions. As expected, various categories of boats fared differently. Outboard boats seemed to be 

By far the most important application of RP in marine structures, particularly with respect to volume consumed, has been in boat construction (Table 6.4). This has occurred in both civilian and military markets. Growth continues where it already dominates the small boats with the larger boat market growing. Materials of construction are reviewed in Tables 6.5-6.7. 

In order to provide sufficient stiffness to support working and entertainment areas as well as to resist the high longitudinal bending 

Resin Phenolic Flame-retardant properties/available in prepreg format/requires temperature cure 

Fiber Carbon Used for shells of high performance race craft and 

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Fuel passing through certain hot zones of an aircraft can attain high temperatures moreover it is used to cool lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or air conditioning. It is therefore necessary to control the thermal stability of jet fuels, more particularly during supersonic flight where friction heat increases temperatures in the fuel tanks. 

It should be noted finally that adding gasoline to diesel fuel which was sometimes recommended in the past to improve cold behavior conflicts with the flash point specifications and presents a serious safety problem owing to the presence of a flammable mixture in the fuel tank airspace. Adding a kerosene that begins to boil at 150°C does not have the Scune disadvantage from this point of view. 

Aircraft Sealants. Polysulfides have been used for sealing fuel tanks and aircraft stmctural components since the 1940s. There are stringent requirements for these sealants. They must have outstanding resistance to fuels and exceUent adhesion to many different materials such as various metal aUoys and protective coatings used in aircraft constmction. The sealants must also perform in extremely variable weather conditions (10). The polysulfides have an exceUent performance record. 

Water Dispersions. Polysulftde products are offered as aqueous dispersions (Thiokol WD-6). These are useful for applyiag protective coatings to line fuel tanks, and for concrete, wood, and ia some cases fabrics, felt, leather (qv), and paper (qv). It has been found that a stable emulsion can be made that contains both LP and manganese oxide curing agent. The emulsion can be thinned and appHed as a spray coating. After it is appHed, water evaporates and the LP cures to form a soHd mbber (13). 

Products can be found in every principal market area including rocket motor and shell casings, air and gas pressure tanks, aircraft wing fuel tanks, utihty poles, automotive and tmck drive shafts, sailboat masts, vaulting poles, fishing rods, golf shafts, railroad tanks cars, and pipes and tanks for oil, gas, and chemical processing. 

A few percent TCNE added during formation of urethane foams imparts enough conductivity to dissipate electrostatic charges. Airplane fuel tanks filled with this foam stiU have about the same volume for fuel but do not build up static charges (29). 

The body of an aircraft, the hull of a spacecraft, the fuel tank of a rocket these are examples of pressure vessels which must be as light as possible. 

A proposal for a draft standard on the requirements for the internal cathodic protection of fuel tanks has been put forward by a working party entitled Internal cathodic protection of fuel tanks [18]. This contains the following information an electrolyte is produced by dissolving sodium bicarbonate in drinking water with a resistivity not greater than 2000 Q cm. The solution should completely cover the anodes in the tank. 

Evaporative emissions from the fuel tank and carburetor have been controlled on all 1971 and later model automobiles sold in the United States. This has been accomplished by either a vapor recovery system which uses the crankcase of the engine for the storage of the hydrocarbon vapors or an adsorption and regeneration system using a canister of activated carbon to trap the vapors and hold them until such time as a fresh air purge through the canister carries the vapors to the induction system for burning in the combustion chamber. 

While EVOH is of interest primarily for food packaging applications attention is now being turned to non-food outlets such as automotive fuel tanks, floor heating pipes and toothpaste tubes. 

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