Ultra-Fast Sealing, Quickly Manufacturable Fuel Bladder

Aircraft and especially their fuel tanks are vulnerable to ballistic and other projectile threat, for example from weapons that threaten airport approach and departure corridors in high-risk regions. Self-sealing tanks and bladders provide a means to protect tanks and dry bays from fires and explosions in case of kinetic hit. ADA Technologies, with industry partners ARM-USA and Boeing, proposes to leverage its past research in cutting edge self-sealing materials and associated manufacturing techniques to develop an innovative solution fitting the Navy?s need. The proposed solution is a layered, self-healing ionomer copolymer wall construction, combined with a fuel-compatible liner. Both layers will be produced via an industrial coating technique called thermal spraying. This quick and repeatable approach will accelerate the rate of production of fuel cells and reduce cost, while providing reliable, repeatable and instantaneous sealing in case of wall puncture by a projectile. Previous research by ADA demonstrated the feasibility of the approach and the instantaneous self-sealing capability. In the present Phase I, the technology will be further developed by refining the manufacturing process and producing flat multi-layer panels that will be used in MIL-DTL-5578 gunfire tests.