Experimental Study on RP-3 Aviation Fuel Tank Using Oxygen-Consuming Inerting Technology

Abstract

Oxygen-consuming fuel tank inerting technology is a novel technology with a simple structure and a high efficiency for tank explosion suppression based on flameless catalytic combustion. To verify the feasibility of the oxygen-consuming inerting system for RP-3 aviation fuel tanks, a test bench was constructed based on a self-developed catalyst, and the system performance was studied on the ground. The results showed that both the oxygen volume fraction in the fuel tank and the mixed inert gas decreased gradually with time, and the oxygen volume fraction in the tank dropped to 12% and 9% after 11.3 and 15.3 min, respectively, which demonstrated that the oxygen-consuming inerting system for RP-3 fuel tanks was successful. In addition, the influence of key parameters on the system performance was also analyzed. The results indicated that the higher the fan flow, inlet gas temperature, and fuel temperature, the faster the oxygen volume fraction decreased. In addition, the formation of CO, NO, and SO2 was also observed during the experiment. The research results can be used as references for the application of oxygen-consuming inerting systems for RP-3 aviation fuel tanks.