On failure, a burst rotor of a wing-mounted engine (13, 23) can penetrate fuel tank walls in the wing of a conventional aircraft. There exists a zone that is at risk of such damage. Thus, the layout of fuel tanks (3, 11C, 21C) in the wing of an aircraft in accordance with embodiments includes port
On failure, a burst rotor of a wing-mounted engine (13, 23) can penetrate fuel tank walls in the wing of a conventional aircraft. There exists a zone that is at risk of such damage. Thus, the layout of fuel tanks (3, 11C, 21C) in the wing of an aircraft in accordance with embodiments includes port and starboard inner fuel tanks (11C, 21C) that are positioned adjacent to a central fuel tank (3) in the central wing section, but outside of the at-risk zone. Each of the port and starboard inner fuel tanks (11C, 21C) is defined in part by a respective inner boundary member (5RP, 5RS) that when viewed in plan extends, at least in part, in a direction at an angle of less than 20° to the adjacent vertical plane (A-A) defining the at-risk zone. Thus the amount of fuel stored in fuel tanks (11C, 21C) in the wing assembly that cover a region outside of the at-risk zone and that do not extend into the at-risk zone may be increased.
대표청구항▼
The invention claimed is: 1. An aircraft wing assembly including a port wing which, in use, carries a port engine comprising at least one rotary disc, a starboard wing which, in use, carries a starboard engine comprising at least one rotary disc, a central wing element linking the port and starboar
The invention claimed is: 1. An aircraft wing assembly including a port wing which, in use, carries a port engine comprising at least one rotary disc, a starboard wing which, in use, carries a starboard engine comprising at least one rotary disc, a central wing element linking the port and starboard wings, and a plurality of tanks defined by a plurality of tank boundary members, the tank boundary members defining i) a central volume which covers at least a part of the central wing element and at least part of an at-risk zone, the at-risk zone consisting of the combination of a) a first region forwards of a first vertical plane positioned such that when the starboard engine is fitted to the starboard wing the first vertical plane extends from the centre of the rearmost rotary disc of the starboard engine backwards and towards the port wing and is separated from the plane of the starboard rotary disc by a dispersion angle, and b) a second region forwards of a second vertical plane positioned such that when the port engine is fitted to the port wing the second vertical plane extends from the centre of the rearmost rotary disc of the port engine backwards and towards the starboard wing and is separated from the plane of the port rotary disc by the dispersion angle, ii) a port inner fuel tank adjacent to the central volume, and iii) a starboard inner fuel tank adjacent to the central volume, wherein the dispersion angle is between 2° and 10°, and the port inner fuel tank and the starboard inner fuel tank are positioned outside of the at-risk zone and each are defined in part by a respective inner boundary member that when viewed in plan extends, at least in part, in a direction at an angle of less than 20° to the adjacent vertical plane defining the at-risk zone. 2. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner boundary member of at least one of the port inner fuel tank and the starboard inner fuel tank when viewed in plan extends, at least in part, in a direction at an angle of less than 2° to the adjacent vertical plane defining the at-risk zone. 3. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the starboard inner fuel tank includes a starboard first inner boundary member that lies along a plane parallel and closely adjacent to the vertical plane that defines the second region of the at-risk zone. 4. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the port inner fuel tank includes a port first inner boundary member that lies along a plane parallel and closely adjacent to the vertical plane that defines the first region of the at-risk zone. 5. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the port inner fuel tank includes a port dividing boundary member extending between the rear of the central wing element and the port first inner boundary member. 6. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the port dividing boundary member lies at the port edge of the central wing element. 7. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the starboard inner fuel tank includes a starboard dividing boundary member extending between the rear of the central wing element and the starboard first inner boundary member. 8. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the port and starboard first inner boundary members meet and form a non-linear boundary element in front of the rear of the central wing element, extending from the front of the port inner tank across the port wing, across the central wing element and across the starboard wing to the front of the starboard inner tank. 9. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein a shared dividing boundary member serves as the port and starboard dividing boundary members. 10. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the starboard dividing boundary member lies at the starboard edge of the central wing element. 11. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port inner fuel tank includes a port second inner boundary member that lies in front of the rear of the central wing element and a port dividing boundary member extending between the rear of the central wing element and the port second inner boundary member. 12. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the starboard inner fuel tank includes a starboard second inner boundary member that lies in front of the rear of the central wing element and a starboard dividing boundary member extending between the rear of the central wing element and the starboard second inner boundary member. 13. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the port and starboard second inner boundary members meet and form a linear boundary element in front of the rear of the central wing element, extending from the front of the port inner tank across the port wing, across the central wing element and across the starboard wing to the front of the starboard inner tank. 14. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein a shared dividing boundary member serves as the port and starboard dividing boundary members. 15. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner boundary member of at least one of the port inner fuel tank and the starboard inner fuel tank when viewed in plan extends, at least in part, in a direction at an angle of less than 10° to the direction of the rear boundary of the region of the wing in which the inner boundary member is located. 16. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the port inner fuel tank includes a port third inner boundary member that when viewed in plan extends in a direction at an angle of less than 2° to the direction of the rear boundary of the central wing element. 17. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the starboard inner fuel tank includes a starboard third inner boundary member that when viewed in plan extends in a direction at an angle of less than 2° to the direction of the rear boundary of the central wing element. 18. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the port and starboard third inner boundary members lie aligned with the rear of the central wing element, forming a linear boundary element extending from the front of the port inner tank across the port wing, across the central wing element and across the starboard wing to the front of the starboard inner tank. 19. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port inner fuel tank includes a non-linear port fourth inner boundary member that includes a first part, in the central wing element, lying forward of the rear of the central wing element, a second part which joins the first part and lies about parallel to and ahead of the rear of the port wing, a third part which joins the second part and runs forward across the port wing to the front of the port wing, and a port dividing boundary member extending between the rear of the central wing element and the first part of the port fourth inner boundary member. 20. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 19, wherein the starboard inner fuel tank includes a non-linear starboard fourth inner boundary member that includes a first part, in the central wing element, lying forward of the rear of the central wing element, a second part which joins the first part and lies about parallel to and ahead of the rear of the starboard wing, a third part which joins the second part and runs forward across the starboard wing to the front of the starboard wing, and a starboard dividing boundary member extending between the rear of the central wing element and the first part of the starboard fourth inner boundary member. 21. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 20, wherein the port and starboard fourth inner boundary members meet and form a non-linear boundary element, extending from the front of the port inner tank across the port wing, along the port wing, across the central wing element, along the starboard wing and across the starboard wing to the front of the starboard inner tank. 22. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 20, wherein a shared dividing boundary member serves as the port and starboard dividing boundary members. 23. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, including port and starboard dry bays, which are when viewed in plan immediately behind the positions of the engines, wherein the port and starboard inner boundary members merge with the boundaries of the port and starboard dry bays. 24. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more central fuel tanks are provided within the central volume. 25. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 24, wherein the port and starboard inner boundary members serve as shared boundary members between the port and starboard inner tanks and the one or more central fuel tanks. 26. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port and starboard wings of the aircraft wing assembly are swept wings and large enough to be suitable for use on an aircraft large enough to accommodate at least 100 passenger seats. 27. An aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sum area defined by the footprint when viewed in plan of all of the fuel tanks in the wing assembly that cover a region outside of the at-risk zone and that do not extend into the at-risk zone is greater than 75% of the area defined by the footprint when viewed in plan of the volume in the wing assembly available for fuel tanks and outside of the at-risk zone. 28. An aircraft including an aircraft wing assembly as claimed in claim 1.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (9)
Norman P. Martinov, Aircraft fuel tank explosion reduction safety method.
Orloff Eugene F. (Long Beach CA) Horowitz Martin (Lynbrook NY) Rittner Charles H. (Great River NY), Multiplexed junction probe for fuel gaging system and system containing same.
Carns,James A.; Cutler,Theron L.; Shelly,Mark A.; Van Kampen,Benjamin P., System and methods for distributing loads from fluid conduits, including aircraft fuel conduits.
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