Fuel tank
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
A fuel tank is part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and released into the engine. Fuel tanks range in size and complexity from the small plastic tank of a butane lighter to the multi-chambered cryogenic Space Shuttle external tank.
Safety
The proper design and construction of a fuel tank plays a major role in the safety of the system it is a part of.
In automotive applications, improper placement of the fuel tank has led to increased probability of fire in collisions. Circa 1990, General Motors faced over a hundred lawsuits related to fires allegedly caused by GM's decision to place the fuel tanks in its pickup trucks outside the protection of the vehicle's frame [1] (http://www.rolanddarby.com/br_sidesaddle.html). In 1993, as one of these lawsuits resulted in a $101 million dollar judgement against GM (later overturned), the television show Dateline NBC created its own controversy by staging an example of the failures. When it was discovered that Dateline's consultants had rigged the truck with explosives in order to guarantee a fire, GM filed a defamation suit, and several NBC employees were fired.
Fuel tanks have also been implicated in aviation disasters. For example, the official explanation for the explosion and subsequent crash of TWA Flight 800 is that an explosive fuel/air mixture was created in one of the aircraft's fuel tanks. Faulty wiring then provided an ignition source within the tank, destroying the airliner. While the accuracy of the official findings is still questioned in this case, similar explosions have occurred in other aircraft.
