Ground and Flight Testing of a Boeing 737 Center Wing Fuel Tank ...

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NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturer's names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. This document does not constitute FAA certification policy. Consult your local FAA aircraft certification office as to its use. This report is available at the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center's Full-Text Technical Reports page: actlibrary.tc.faa.gov in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF).
1. Report No. DOT/FAA/AR-01/63 4. Title and Subtitle 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. GROUND AND FLIGHT TESTING OF A BOEING 737 CENTER WING FUEL TANK INERTED WITH NITROGEN-ENRICHED AIR 7. Author(s) Michael Burns and William M. Cavage 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center Airport and Aircraft Safety Research and Development Division Fire Safety Section, AAR-422 Atlantic City International Airport, NJ 08405 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Office of Aviation Research Washington, DC 20591 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract Technical Report Documentation Page 5. Report Date August 2001 6. Performing Organization Code AAR-422 8. Performing Organization Report No. DOT/FAA/AR-01/63 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 11. Contract or Grant No. 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report 14. Sponsoring Agency Code ANM-100 A series of aircraft flight and ground tests were performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Boeing Company to evaluate the effectiveness of ground-based inerting (GBI) as a means of reducing the flammability of fuel tanks in the commercial transport fleet. Boeing made available a model 737-700 for modification and testing. A nitrogen-enriched air (NEA) distribution manifold, designed, built, and installed by Boeing, allowed for deposit of the ground-based NEA into the center wing tank (CWT). The fuel tank was instrumented with gas sample tubing and thermocouples to allow for a measurement of fuel tank inerting and heating during the testing. The FAA developed an in-flight gas-sampling system, integrated with eight oxygen analyzers, to continuously monitor the ullage oxygen concentration at eight different locations. Other data such as fuel load, air speed, altitude, and similar flight parameters were made available from the aircraft data bus. A series of ten tests were performed (five flight, five ground) under different ground and flight conditions to demonstrate the ability of GBI to reduce fuel tank flammability. The CWT was inerted with NEA to approximately 8% oxygen concentration by volume for each test. The aircraft condition was then set (fuel load, wind condition, and flight condition), and the oxygen concentration in the CWT was continuously monitored. Results showed that, under quiescent conditions, the oxygen concentration in the fuel tank remained somewhat constant, keeping the CWT inert (below 10 to 12% oxygen by volume) for relatively long periods of time. However, due to the cross venting configuration of Boeing aircraft, certain wind conditions created cross venting within the CWT which allowed for significant increases in the oxygen concentration. Some flight conditions also contributed to cross venting and created high oxygen concentrations within the fuel tank. A modification to the vent system prevented cross flow within the CWT and created a significant increase in the amount of the time the tank remained below 10% oxygen, even at low to moderate fuel loads. 17. Key Words Nitrogen-enriched air, Ullage washing, Volume flow rate, Fuel tank inerting, Oxygen concentration, Total hydrocarbon 19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified 20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified 18. Distribution Statement Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized This Document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161 21. No. of Pages 34 22. Price
Page 1: DOT/FAA/AR-01/63 Office of Aviation
Page 5 and 6: 4. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 12 4.1 Gro
Page 7 and 8: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Significant empha
Page 9 and 10: simple fuel tank inerting manifold.
Page 11 and 12: 2.1.2 Instrumentation and Data Acqu
Page 13 and 14: level pressure (14.7 psia) in two s
Page 15 and 16: FIGURE 4. INDUSTRIAL NEA GENERATOR
Page 17 and 18: oxygen concentration. After test 1,
Page 19 and 20: Application of this concept gives t
Page 21 and 22: Inerting Ratio Oxygen Concentration
Page 23 and 24: Both figures 7 and 9 illustrate tha
Page 25 and 26: Oxygen Concentration (% Vol) 20.0 1
Page 27 and 28: The effect of fueling on the inert
Page 29 and 30: descent. During descent, the oxygen
Page 31 and 32: Oxygen Concentration (% vol) 25 20
Page 33 and 34: Oxygen Concentration (% vol) 18 16

Ground and Flight Testing of a Boeing 737 Center Wing Fuel Tank ...

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