Tear resistant fuel cells for aircraft
A fuel cell for an aircraft includes a textile substrate having a plurality of unidirectional textile plies that are bonded together. An outer shell layer is positioned exteriorly of the textile substrate. The plurality of unidirectional textile plies includes first and second ripstop plies each having a yarn coupled thereto in a ripstop pattern. The ripstop pattern of the first ripstop ply has an off-axis orientation relative to the ripstop pattern of the second ripstop ply.
1 . A fuel cell for an aircraft, the fuel cell comprising:
a textile substrate having a plurality of unidirectional textile plies that are bonded together; and
an outer shell layer positioned exteriorly of the textile substrate;
wherein the plurality of unidirectional textile plies includes first and second ripstop plies each having a yarn coupled thereto in a ripstop pattern; and
wherein the ripstop pattern of the first ripstop ply has an off-axis orientation relative to the ripstop pattern of the second ripstop ply.
2 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the plurality of unidirectional textile plies includes between four and twenty unidirectional textile plies.
3 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the unidirectional textile plies further comprise ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.
4 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the unidirectional textile plies further comprise para-aramid fibers.
5 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the unidirectional textile plies further comprise unidirectional laminate plies.
6 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 5 , wherein, each of the unidirectional laminate plies further comprises a plurality of layers of unidirectional material positioned in a cross-ply orientation.
7 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the outer shell layer further comprises an elastomeric material.
8 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a fuel barrier layer positioned interiorly of the textile substrate.
9 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the yarn further comprises a high tenacity yarn.
10 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 9 , wherein, the high tenacity yarn further comprises ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.
11 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the ripstop pattern further comprises a parallel linear pattern.
12 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the yarn is stitched onto a surface of each ripstop ply to form the ripstop pattern.
13 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the first and second ripstop plies are adjacent plies.
14 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the first and second ripstop plies are nonadjacent plies.
15 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the ripstop pattern of the first ripstop ply has a cross-ply orientation relative to the ripstop pattern of the second ripstop ply.
16 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 1 , wherein, the plurality of unidirectional textile plies includes a plurality of ripstop plies in a range between two and ten ripstop plies including the first and second ripstop plies.
17 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 16 , wherein, the ripstop plies are distributed uniformly within the textile substrate.
18 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 16 , wherein, the ripstop plies are distributed nonuniformly within the textile substrate.
19 . The fuel cell as recited in claim 18 , wherein, the ripstop plies are biased toward an outboard portion of the textile substrate.
20 . An aircraft comprising:
an airframe; and
a fuel cell coupled to the airframe, the fuel cell comprising:
a textile substrate having a plurality of unidirectional textile plies that are bonded together; and
an outer shell layer positioned exteriorly of the textile substrate;
wherein, the plurality of unidirectional textile plies includes first and second ripstop plies each having a yarn coupled thereto in a ripstop pattern; and
wherein, the ripstop pattern of the first ripstop ply has an off-axis orientation relative to the ripstop pattern of the second ripstop ply.