Light weight hydrogen tank
AssigneeHughes Electronics Corporation
InventorsHarold Rosen, Alois Wittmann, Scott Pano
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A light weight fuel tank for a hydrogen powered airplane used as a platform for communication repeaters for communication services. An outer spherical shell member of a sandwich configuration surrounds an inner thin walled spherical shell member in which the liquid hydrogen is contained. A radial gap between the shell members is evacuated to a high vacuum. The facing surfaces of the shell members are coated with a low emissivity material. Electrical heaters are provided to control the evaporation rate of the hydrogen to match the fuel usage and to prevent icing during ascent and descent of the airplane.
Claims11
A lightweight fuel tank comprising:
- an outer spherical shell member;
- an inner spherical shell member positioned inside said outer shell member;
- said inner shell member and said outer shell member being positioned to provide an insulating radial gap between them;
- said inner shell member having an outer surface and an inner surface, said outer surface being coated with a low emissivity material;
- and
- said outer shell member having an outer surface and an inner surface, said inner surface being coated with a low emissivity material;
- said inner shell member being made of an aluminum material and said outer shell member being made of a sandwich of titanium, Kevlar and Nomex materials.
A lightweight fuel tank comprising:
- an outer spherical shell member;
- an inner spherical shell member positioned inside said outer shell member;
- said inner shell member and said outer shell member being positioned to provide an insulating radial gap between them;
- said inner shell member having an outer surface and an inner surface, said outer surface being coated with a low emissivity material;
- said outer shell member having a sandwich construction with an inner skin member made of a lightweight metal material, an outer skin member made of a lightweight composite material, and a core member made of a low thermal conduction insulating material;
- and
- wherein said inner skin member is an aluminum material, said outer skin member is a Kevlar material, and said core member is a low density foam material.
A lightweight fuel tank comprising:
- an outer spherical shell member;
- an inner spherical shell member positioned inside said outer shell member;
- said inner shell member and said outer shell member being positioned to provide an insulating radial gap between them;
- said inner shell member having an outer surface and an inner surface, said outer surface being coated with a low emissivity material;
- said outer shell member having a sandwich construction with an inner skin member made of a lightweight metal material, an outer skin member made of a lightweight composite material, and a core member made of a low thermal conduction insulating material;
- and
- wherein said inner shell member is made of an aluminum material and said outer shell member is made of a sandwich of titanium, Kevlar and Nomex materials.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.