Self-Sealing Liquid Bladder Rapid Fuel Puncture Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional self-sealing fuel tanks are slow to seal punctures, inadequate for larger penetrations, stiff, heavy, and difficult to install, posing risks of fuel leakage and environmental contamination, especially in military vehicles.
Innovation Solution
Self-sealing liquid bladders with multiple layers, including a liquid impermeable layer and a sealing layer with shape-changing structures, compressed materials, or segmented cellular structures that rapidly seal holes by expanding or releasing stored energy to plug perforations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If natural rubber is used as sealing material in conventional self-sealing bladders, then the bladder can seal punctures, but the sealing time is significant (2 minutes or more) and larger caliber penetrations are not easily sealed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the sealing material by using hydrophilic polymers with specific molecular weights and compositions that can rapidly absorb fuel and swell. This parameter change enables the sealing material to respond much faster than conventional natural rubber while effectively sealing both small and large caliber penetrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite sealing structures combining hydrophilic polymers with fuel-absorbent materials and binding agents. This composite approach creates a multi-functional sealing layer that rapidly absorbs fuel, swells to close punctures, and maintains structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between sealing effectiveness and sealing time.
2Reliability
If thick layer of natural rubber is used in bladder wall for self-sealing, then punctures can be sealed, but the bladder becomes stiff, heavy, and difficult and expensive to install
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces thick natural rubber layers with thin films of hydrophilic polymer-based sealing materials that maintain self-sealing capability while providing flexibility. These thin films conform to the bladder wall and provide effective sealing without the stiffness and weight associated with thick natural rubber layers, making installation easier and more cost-effective.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the sealing layer by using materials with lower density and different mechanical properties than natural rubber. The hydrophilic polymers provide adequate strength and sealing capability with much thinner sections, reducing overall bladder wall thickness, weight, and stiffness while improving flexibility and installation ease.
3Reliability
If conventional self-sealing bladder design is used, then fuel leakage can be minimized, but the bladder is heavy and has reduced fuel capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin film sealing layers that provide effective fuel leakage prevention without the bulk and weight of conventional thick natural rubber layers. These thin films maintain the necessary barrier properties to prevent fuel penetration while minimizing the volume occupied by the sealing structure, thereby maximizing fuel capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite sealing structures with high fuel-absorbency and rapid swelling characteristics that provide superior leakage prevention with minimal material thickness. This composite approach achieves enhanced sealing performance in a thinner profile, allowing more space for fuel storage while maintaining reliable leakage prevention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The self-sealing bladders provide rapid and effective sealing of larger wounds, are lighter and easier to install, and offer improved flexibility and fuel capacity compared to conventional systems, reducing fuel loss and environmental risks.
Implementation Method 1
the sealing layer includes a plurality of shape changing structures that change geometry when exposed to the liquid in the bladder
Implementation Method 2
the sealing layer includes at least one compressed material that is retained in the sealing layer in a compressed state until a hole is formed in the liquid bladder at which time the compressed material adjacent to the hole expands to at least partially plug the hole
Data Source
AI summary
A self-sealing liquid bladder having a plurality of layers including a liquid impermeable material layer that is compatible with a liquid held in the bladder and at least one sealing layer that is conformally arranged to span a surface area of the liquid impermeable material layer and that is separated from a liquid held in the bladder by the liquid impermeable layer, the sealing layer including a sealing means that, in response to a penetration of both the liquid impermeable material layer and the sealing layer, substantially seals the penetration.