초록 ▼

Inert loading jet fuel (302) is a provided by directly injecting an inerting agent (316) directly into jet fuel (308) while it is being loaded onboard an aircraft (13) to ultimately make aircraft fuel tanks (17) safe from ignition and explosions. The inerting agent (316) is preferably gaseous nitrog

Inert loading jet fuel (302) is a provided by directly injecting an inerting agent (316) directly into jet fuel (308) while it is being loaded onboard an aircraft (13) to ultimately make aircraft fuel tanks (17) safe from ignition and explosions. The inerting agent (316) is preferably gaseous nitrogen (N2) which is directly injected into the fuel flow (346) during refueling of the aircraft (13), and travels to the fuel tanks (17) and then separates from the fuel (302) within the fuel tank (17) to substantially fill the ullage of the fuel tank (17) with a non-explosive atmosphere. The inerting agent (316) may also be injected in to aircraft fuels (8) which are cooled to reduced temperatures such that the volume of the fuel (8) is reduced, thereby allowing more fuel (8) to be held in the storage (17). The inerting agent may further be injected into aircraft fuels which are heated and then stored in fuel storage (17) of the aircraft (13) to de-ice the wings (15) of the aircraft (13). Such fuels are heated externally of the aircraft (13) to elevated temperatures which are sufficiently high enough to transfer heat from the fuel, through a fuel tank (17) extending within the wings (15), and to the exterior of the wings (15) to de-ice the aircraft (13).

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method for treating fuel to prevent explosions within aircraft fuel tanks, comprising the steps of:providing a liquid fuel; directly injecting a gaseous inerting agent into the fuel; loading the fuel into a storage tank aboard an aircraft; wherein the gaseous inerting agent separates from withi

1. A method for treating fuel to prevent explosions within aircraft fuel tanks, comprising the steps of:providing a liquid fuel; directly injecting a gaseous inerting agent into the fuel; loading the fuel into a storage tank aboard an aircraft; wherein the gaseous inerting agent separates from within the fuel in the storage tank and moves into the ullage of the storage tank, substantially rendering the ullage non-combustible; cooling the fuel to reduced temperatures substantially less than ambient temperature so that the volume of the fuel is reduced; and storing the fuel in the storage tank while the fuel is at the reduced temperatures.