THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP A LOW COST EXPENDABLE/REUSABLE AUXILIARY FUEL TANK THAT CAN BE DISASSEMBLED FOR HIGH-DENSITY STORAGE.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP A LOW COST EXPENDABLE/REUSABLE AUXILIARY FUEL TANK THAT CAN BE DISASSEMBLED FOR HIGH-DENSITY STORAGE. THIS TANK WILL BE DESIGNED FOR QUICK ASSEMBLY/DISASSEMBLY (LESS THAN 15 MINUTES) AND HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF OPERATING IN EITHER A PRESSURIZED OR UNPRESSURIZED MODE. THE TANK WILL HAVE A STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN CURRENT ALL-WELDED MODELS AND HAVE A 300-400 GALLON CAPACITY. THE LOW COST TANK WILL CONSIST OF THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS THAT INTERFACE INTO AN INTEGRAL PART VIA AN INTERLOCK COUPLING AND BOLTING DEVICE. EACH MAJOR COMPONENT WILL BE STRUCTURALLY CONFIGURED TO MAXIMIZE CERTAIN AERODYNAMIC QUALITIES AND TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH DENSITY STORAGE. A PROTOTYPE MODEL WILL BE CONSTRUTED TO FACILITATE AND VERIFY MAJOR DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, E.G., EASE OF ASSEMBLY/DISASSEMBLY, STORAGE DENSITY, STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY, ETC. THE MODEL WILL ALSO SERVE AS A MAJOR REFERENCE FOR FOLLOW-ON DESIGN ACTIVITIES. ALTERNATE STRUCTURAL MATERIALS SUCH AS CARBON FILAMENT COMPOSITES WILL BE INVESTIGATED.