A self-sealing bladder may automatically seal a puncture wound formed in a bladder wall thereof, such as due to being perforated by a projectile. Self-sealing bladders may be used in containers, such as fuel tanks, in order to prevent loss of fuel or other fluid from the container. Self-sealing blad
A self-sealing bladder may automatically seal a puncture wound formed in a bladder wall thereof, such as due to being perforated by a projectile. Self-sealing bladders may be used in containers, such as fuel tanks, in order to prevent loss of fuel or other fluid from the container. Self-sealing bladders may contain a sealant material contained within one or more localized reservoirs formed within the bladder wall, the sealant material being pressurized within the bladder wall such that a localized reduction in pressure due to a perforation in the bladder wall causes the sealant material to migrate to the perforated site, whereupon the sealant material hardens, thereby sealing the wound. The localized reservoirs may include one or more channels and/or connecting layers extending therefrom and in fluid communication therewith, to facilitate migration of the sealant material away from the localized reservoirs and towards the perforated portion of the bladder wall.
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1. A self-sealing bladder for use within a container configured for holding a fluid, the self-sealing bladder being configured to be positioned inside the container, between the container and the fluid when the container contains the fluid, the self-sealing bladder having a non-perforated filled con
1. A self-sealing bladder for use within a container configured for holding a fluid, the self-sealing bladder being configured to be positioned inside the container, between the container and the fluid when the container contains the fluid, the self-sealing bladder having a non-perforated filled configuration, a non-perforated unfilled configuration, and a perforated configuration, the self-sealing bladder comprising: a bladder wall, comprising: a first sealant-impermeable layer;a barrier layer comprising an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, wherein the barrier layer is substantially impervious to the fluid when the self-sealing bladder is in the non-perforated filled and non-perforated unfilled configurations, wherein the inner surface is arranged to be facing the first sealant-impermeable layer; anda second sealant-impermeable layer coupled to the inner surface of the barrier layer and to the first sealant-impermeable layer, wherein the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer define a central bladder area formed between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, the central bladder area being configured to receive a sealant material, wherein the central bladder area has a variable volume depending on the amount of sealant material within the central bladder area;a localized reservoir within the central bladder area; andan elastomeric thread coupling the second sealant-impermeable layer to the first sealant-impermeable layer, the elastomeric thread being configured to couple the second sealant-impermeable layer to the first sealant-impermeable layer such that the elastomeric thread allows for variable, elastic separation of the second sealant-impermeable layer from the first sealant-impermeable layer when the elastomeric thread is under tension, and wherein, in the perforated configuration, the self-sealing bladder is configured to, at least partially, automatically seal a perforated portion of the self-sealing bladder, thereby substantially preventing loss of the fluid from the container through the perforated portion. 2. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 1, wherein the localized reservoir comprises a plurality of localized, spaced-apart reservoirs. 3. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 1, further comprising a channel in fluid communication with the localized reservoir, the channel being positioned within the central bladder area. 4. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 3, wherein the channel comprises a plurality of channels, each channel extending away from the localized reservoir and in fluid communication with the localized reservoir. 5. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of channels extend radially out from the localized reservoir. 6. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 4, wherein the localized reservoir comprises at least a first localized reservoir and a second localized reservoir spaced apart from the first localized reservoir, wherein the plurality of channels comprises a first plurality of channels and a second plurality of channels, the first plurality of channels being in fluid communication with the first localized reservoir, and the second plurality of channels being in fluid communication with the second localized reservoir. 7. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting layer in fluid communication with the localized reservoir, the connecting layer being positioned within the central bladder area. 8. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 7, wherein the localized reservoir comprises at least a first localized reservoir and a second localized reservoir spaced apart from the first localized reservoir, wherein the connecting layer comprises a first connecting layer and a second connecting layer, the first connecting layer being in fluid communication with the first localized reservoir, and the second connecting layer being in fluid communication with the second localized reservoir. 9. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 8, wherein the first localized reservoir and the first connecting layer contain the sealant material, and wherein the second localized reservoir and the second connecting layer contain a mobile reactive species configured to react with the sealant material. 10. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 1, further comprising the sealant material, wherein the sealant material at least partially fills the central bladder area between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, thereby placing the self-sealing bladder in the non-perforated filled configuration. 11. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 10, wherein the sealant material is configured to solidify when it comes into contact with air. 12. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 10, wherein, in the non-perforated filled configuration, the elastomeric thread is configured to pressurize the sealant material contained in the central bladder area by compressing the first sealant-impermeable layer towards the second sealant-impermeable layer. 13. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 10, wherein, in the perforated configuration, the sealant material contained within the localized, spaced-apart reservoirs in the non-perforated filled configuration is automatically at least partially squeezed out of and away from one or more of the localized, spaced-apart reservoirs and towards the perforated portion of the self-sealing bladder, and wherein the sealant material contained within the central bladder area in the non-perforated filled configuration is configured to seal the perforated portion of the self-sealing bladder when the self-sealing bladder is induced to the perforated configuration. 14. The self-sealing bladder according to claim 1, further comprising the container, wherein the container comprises one or more of a drum, a storage tank, an aircraft fuel tank, a tank, a military vehicle fuel tank, a tank truck, a rotorcraft fuel tank, a combat vehicle fuel tank, and any cavity designed to hold the self-sealing bladder. 15. A method of fabricating a container configured for holding a fluid, the container comprising an internal space configured to receive the fluid therein, the method comprising: providing a first sealant-impermeable layer;coupling a barrier layer to a second sealant-impermeable layer, the barrier layer comprising an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, wherein the barrier layer is substantially impervious to the fluid;coupling the first sealant-impermeable layer to the second sealant-impermeable layer using elastomeric thread, thereby forming a central bladder area defined between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, wherein the first sealant-impermeable layer, the second sealant-impermeable layer, and the barrier layer together form a bladder wall of a self-sealing bladder, wherein the self-sealing bladder is configured to contain the fluid inside the bladder wall, adjacent the outer surface of the barrier layer;forming a plurality of localized, spaced-apart reservoirs within the central bladder area;positioning the self-sealing bladder inside the container such that the barrier layer is interior to the second sealant-impermeable layer, with the outer surface of the barrier layer facing the internal space of the container; andinserting a sealant material into the central bladder area between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, such that the sealant material is distributed throughout substantially the entire central bladder area. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the coupling the first sealant-impermeable layer to the second sealant-impermeable layer comprises coupling the first sealant-impermeable layer to the second sealant-impermeable layer such that the elastomeric thread allows for variable, elastic separation of the second sealant-impermeable layer from the first sealant-impermeable layer when the elastomeric thread is under tension. 17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising filling at least a portion of the internal space of the container with the fluid, such that the fluid is contained by the self-sealing bladder, adjacent the barrier layer of the self-sealing bladder, wherein the bladder wall is sandwiched between the fluid and an interior surface of the container. 18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising forming one or more channels within the central bladder area, the one or more channels each being in fluid communication with one or more respective localized spaced-apart reservoirs of the plurality of localized, spaced-apart reservoirs. 19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of localized, spaced-apart reservoirs comprises a first reservoir and a second reservoir, the method further comprising filling at least a portion of the first reservoir with a first substance, and filling at least a portion of the second reservoir with a second substance, the first substance being different from the second substance. 20. The method according to claim 15, further comprising removing the self-sealing bladder from the container after the self-sealing bladder is perforated at a perforated portion, repairing the perforated portion of the self-sealing bladder, re-filling the central bladder area with sealant material, and replacing the self-sealing bladder back into the container after the repairing the perforated portion of the self-sealing bladder.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (11)
Villemain Herbert F. (Cuyahoga Falls OH), Aircraft self-sealing fuel tank.
Markus Distelhoff DE; Karl Eck DE; Winfried Frohlich DE; Dieter Keller DE; Justus Kloker DE; Knut Meyer DE; Ingo Mohr DE; Bernd Rumpf DE; Wolfgang Sinz DE; Rainer Moser DE, Fuel tank for a motor vehicle.
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