Aircraft Fuel Systems

AIAA Team 1 (Shelley Biagi & Curtis Black)

A/C Design Class
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Business and Commercial Aviation
Magazine
An aircraft's fuel system has a more
profound effect on aircraft performance than
any other airframe system. Without fuel, the
mission inevitably comes to an abrupt stop
and, unless the flight crew is very, very lucky,
the ensuing forced landing will cause severe
or catastrophic aircraft damage. ~ Fred
George, 6/20/06 http://www.avweek.com/avnow/news/channel_bca_story.jsp?
id=news/fuel0606.xml
Fuel Types
Civilian Military
Jet A JP-4
Jet A-1 JP-5
Jet B JP-8
Typical Fuel Tanks
Integral
Rigid Removable
Bladder
Rule of Thumb for max. fuel volume: 85% for wing
tanks and 92% for fuselage tanks, measured to the
external skin surface (exception: bladder tanks, 77%
and 83%, respectively)
External
Components

Main Tanks

Header Tank (separate from main tanks, holds

enough fuel for engines to run during
complicated maneuvers)

Gravity Feed (small aircraft only)

Electric/Engine-driven Fuel Pumps

Fuel distributed around
center of gravity
Fuel Dumping Systems

Needed to meet landing weight limits of

landing gear or runway length
System of fuel pumps and valves
Usually ejected from wingtips
Sometimes from aft-most point of fuselage
Usually designed to allow the plane to go
from max take-off weight to max landing
weight in 15 minutes or less.
777 Fuel Dumping
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0245b.shtml
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/refueling/T
ech22G5.htm
In-Flight Refueling

Original motivation: endurance records

Currently used only in the military sector
Two main types:
Boom and Receptacle
Probe and Drogue

http://www.answers.com/topic/aerial-refueling
References
Ask A Scientist
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99417.htm
Aerospaceweb.org
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0245b.shtml
Refueling
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/
refueling/Tech22G5.htm
PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/concorde/anat-nf.html
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tank
Raymer Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach 4th ed. By
Daniel Raymer
George, Fred Business and Commercial Aviation
Magazine, June 2006 issue.
http://www.avweek.com/avnow/news/channel_bca_story.jsp?
id=news/fuel0606.xml
Any Questions?