Granted Patent B2

US 12,263,955 · App. 17/578,081 · Granted Apr 1, 2025

Inventors: David Allen Pettey (Portsmouth, RI); Richard Fox (Smithfield, RI)

Assignee: RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

B64D37/06B32B1/00B32B5/02B32B5/26B60L50/72B64C3/34B65D25/14B32B2262/0253B32B2307/54B32B2307/72B32B2307/762B32B2605/18B60L2200/10B64C27/12B65D2590/245

Abstract

Claims (32)

1. An aircraft fuel cell comprising:

an inner layer configured to contact a fuel;

an outer layer; and

a self-sealing fabric structure between the inner layer and the outer layer and separated from an immediately adjacent layer by a gap, wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises at least 10 layers of a self-sealing fabric that is unreactive to fuel and is configured to self-seal a hole, in the inner layer formed by a projectile, without being triggered or activated by a liquid to expand to fill the hole, wherein self-sealing the hole formed in the inner layer comprises one or more layers of the self-sealing fabric structure being pulled through the hole in the inner layer by the projectile and plugging the hole.

2. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fabric.

3. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure has a thickness of less than 0.400 inches.

4. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure has a density ranging from 0.2 g/cm 3 to 0.97 g/cm 3 .

5. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure includes from 10 to 45 layers of self-sealing fabric.

6. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises a fuel-tight material.

7. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises a material having a yield strength ranging from 0.15 GPa to 0.90 GPa.

8. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises excess material configured to be pulled into the hole by the projectile and self-seal the hole.

9. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 8 , wherein the excess material has an area, before self-sealing the hole, that is between about 100% and 400% of the area of the inner layer.

10. The aircraft fuel cell of claim 8 , wherein the excess material comprises an overlap seam that is between about 5 mm and about 50 mm for each wall of the fuel that is covered by the self-sealing fabric structure.

11. An aircraft comprising:

a fuselage;

a propulsion system powered by a fuel; and

a fuel cell configured to store the fuel, the fuel cell comprising:

an inner layer configured to contact the fuel;

an outer layer; and

a self-sealing fabric structure comprising at least 10 layers of a self-sealing fabric formed from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) that is unreactive to fuel, wherein the self-sealing fabric structure is interposed between the inner layer and the outer layer and separated from an immediately adjacent layer by a gap, wherein the self-sealing fabric structure is configured to self-seal a hole formed in the inner layer by a projectile without being triggered or activated by a liquid to expand to fill the hole, wherein self-sealing the hole formed in the inner layer comprises one or more layers of the self-sealing fabric structure being pulled through the hole in the inner layer by the projectile and plugging the hole.

12. The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises excess material configured to be pulled into the hole by the projectile, wherein the excess material is configured to self-seal the hole.

13. The aircraft of claim 12 , wherein the excess material has an area, before self-sealing the hole, that is between about 100% and 400% of the area of the inner layer.

14. The aircraft of claim 12 , wherein the excess material comprises an overlap seam that is between about 5 mm and about 50 mm for each wall of the fuel that is covered by the self-sealing fabric structure.

15. The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the inner layer and the outer layer of the fuel cell comprise flexible layers such that the fuel cell is a flexible fuel bag.

16. A structure, comprising:

an inner layer configured to contact, and contain, a liquid;

an outer layer; and

a self-sealing fabric structure between the inner layer and the outer layer and separated from an immediately adjacent layer by a gap, and wherein the self-sealing fabric structure is adhered to an intermediate layer by an adhesive between the self-sealing fabric structure and the inner layer, wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises at least 10 layers of a self-sealing fabric that is unreactive to fuel, wherein the at least 10 layers of the self-sealing fabric are configured to self-seal a hole, formed in the inner layer by a projectile, without being triggered or activated by a liquid to expand to fill the hole, wherein the adhesive is configured to allow layers of the self-sealing fabric structure to move when the self-sealing fabric structure is struck by the projectile, wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises excess fabric that has an area between about 100% and 400% of the area of the inner layer, wherein self-sealing the hole formed in the inner layer comprises at least a portion of the excess fabric of the self-sealing fabric structure being pulled through the hole in the inner layer by the projectile and plugging the hole.

17. The structure of claim 16 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure has a thickness of less than 0.400 inches.

18. The structure of claim 16 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure has a density ranging from 0.2 g/cm 3 to 0.97 g/cm 3 .

19. The structure of claim 16 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure includes from 10 to 45 layers of self-sealing fabric.

20. The structure of claim 16 , wherein the self-sealing fabric structure comprises a material having a yield strength ranging from 0.15 GPa to 0.90 GPa.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (23)