Publish Time: 2023-03-17 Origin: Site
A fuel tank (also known as a gasoline tank or gasoline tank) is a safe container for flammable liquids, usually gasoline or diesel. Although any fuel storage tank can be called this, the term is generally applied to the part of an engine system where fuel is stored and propelled (fuel pump) or released (pressurized gas) into the engine.Fuel tanks vary in size and complexity, from small plastic tanks for butane lighters to multi-chamber cryogenic space shuttle external fuel tanks.
Typically tanks must allow or provide the following:
Fuel storage:The system must contain a given amount of fuel and must avoid leaks and limit evaporative emissions.
Filling:Tank filling must be safe and spark-free.
Provide a means of determining the fuel level in the tank, gauging (the amount of fuel remaining in the tank must be measured or estimated).
Venting (if overpressure is not permitted, fuel vapors must be managed through valves).
Supply to the engine (via pump).
Anticipate potential damage and provide safe survival potential.
Plastic (High Density Polyethylene HDPE) as a construction material for fuel tanks, while functionally viable in the short term, can become saturated in the long term as fuels such as diesel and gasoline permeate the HDPE material.Environmental stress cracking is a definite possibility given the inertial and kinetic energy of fuel in plastic tanks transported by vehicles.The flammability of the fuel makes stress cracking a likely cause of catastrophic failure.Apart from emergencies, HDPE plastic is suitable for short-term storage of diesel and gasoline. In the US, Underwriters Laboratories approved (UL 142) tanks will be the minimum design consideration.
While most tanks are manufactured, some tanks are still made by metal artisans, or in the case of bladder tanks, handcrafted.These include custom and restored fuel tanks for cars, planes, motorcycles, boats and even tractors.The construction of a fuel tank follows a specific series of steps.Craftsmen usually create a model to determine the exact size and shape of the tank, usually from foam board. Next, address design issues that affect the tank structure such as the location of outlets, drains, level indicators, seams, and baffles. The craftsman then has to determine the thickness, hardness and alloy of the plates he will use to make the tank.After the sheet is cut to the desired shape, the various pieces are bent to create the basic shell and/or ends and baffles of the tank.The baffles of many fuel tanks (especially on airplanes and racing cars) have lightning holes.These flange holes serve two purposes, they reduce the weight of the tank while adding strength to the baffle.At the end of construction, openings were added for the filler neck, fuel collector, drain and fuel level sender.Sometimes these holes are created in the flat case, sometimes they are added at the end of the manufacturing process.Baffles and ends can be riveted in place.The heads of the rivets are often brazed or welded to keep the tank from leaking.The ends may then be crimped and welded, or flanged and brazed (and/or sealed with an epoxy-type sealant), or the ends may be flanged and welded.After brazing, brazing or welding is complete, the tank will be leak tested.In the aerospace industry, the use of tank sealants is a common application for high temperature integral tanks.This has excellent resistance to fluids such as water, alcohols, synthetic oils and petroleum-based hydraulic fluids.