Multi-Tank Fuel Inerting System

The military desires a multi-tank fuel inerting system to protect the craft from ballistic fire and accidental fires. Traditional systems have used either stored suppressants that are often heavy, costly, and create logistical resupply challenges or systems that produce an inert gas such as an on-board inert gas generating system that can generate an inert gas to fill the ullage during flights. The Navy desires an improved inerting system that can support multiple independent fuel tanks that does not use engine bleed air, uses a minimum of electrical power, and that can reduce the oxygen content in the tanks to less than 9% by volume. Toward this goal, Reactive Innovations, LLC has demonstrated an inerting system that does not use engine bleed air nor stored reactants, and that can process fuel/air mixtures reducing the oxygen content to less than 9%. Experimental and mathematical models of the inerting process have been conducted that show how the inerting system will scale and perform at higher ullage flow rates. This inerting system is being scaled to a larger operational system to function with larger aircraft multi-tank fuel systems. Optimization of the inerting process will focus on reducing the weight and manufacturing cost.