US 9,597,859 B2Granted

Self-sealing bladders and related methods

AssigneeThe Boeing Company

InventorsJames J. Childress, Mark Stewart Wilenski, Michael Patrick Kozar

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Abstract

A self-sealing bladder may automatically seal a puncture wound formed in a bladder wall thereof, such as due to being perforated by a projectile. Self-sealing bladders may be used in containers, such as fuel tanks, in order to prevent loss of fuel or other fluid from the container. Self-sealing bladders may contain a sealant material contained within one or more localized reservoirs formed within the bladder wall, the sealant material being pressurized within the bladder wall such that a localized reduction in pressure due to a perforation in the bladder wall causes the sealant material to migrate to the perforated site, whereupon the sealant material hardens, thereby sealing the wound. The localized reservoirs may include one or more channels and/or connecting layers extending therefrom and in fluid communication therewith, to facilitate migration of the sealant material away from the localized reservoirs and towards the perforated portion of the bladder wall.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A self-sealing bladder for use within a container configured for holding a fluid, the self-sealing bladder being configured to be positioned inside the container, between the container and the fluid when the container contains the fluid, the self-sealing bladder having a non-perforated filled configuration, a non-perforated unfilled configuration, and a perforated configuration, the self-sealing bladder comprising:

a bladder wall, comprising:
a first sealant-impermeable layer;
a barrier layer comprising an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, wherein the barrier layer is substantially impervious to the fluid when the self-sealing bladder is in the non-perforated filled and non-perforated unfilled configurations, wherein the inner surface is arranged to be facing the first sealant-impermeable layer;
and
a second sealant-impermeable layer coupled to the inner surface of the barrier layer and to the first sealant-impermeable layer, wherein the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer define a central bladder area formed between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, the central bladder area being configured to receive a sealant material, wherein the central bladder area has a variable volume depending on the amount of sealant material within the central bladder area;
a localized reservoir within the central bladder area;
and
an elastomeric thread coupling the second sealant-impermeable layer to the first sealant-impermeable layer, the elastomeric thread being configured to couple the second sealant-impermeable layer to the first sealant-impermeable layer such that the elastomeric thread allows for variable, elastic separation of the second sealant-impermeable layer from the first sealant-impermeable layer when the elastomeric thread is under tension, and wherein, in the perforated configuration, the self-sealing bladder is configured to, at least partially, automatically seal a perforated portion of the self-sealing bladder, thereby substantially preventing loss of the fluid from the container through the perforated portion.

5 more elements

A method of fabricating a container configured for holding a fluid, the container comprising an internal space configured to receive the fluid therein, the method comprising:

providing a first sealant-impermeable layer;
coupling a barrier layer to a second sealant-impermeable layer, the barrier layer comprising an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, wherein the barrier layer is substantially impervious to the fluid;
coupling the first sealant-impermeable layer to the second sealant-impermeable layer using elastomeric thread, thereby forming a central bladder area defined between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, wherein the first sealant-impermeable layer, the second sealant-impermeable layer, and the barrier layer together form a bladder wall of a self-sealing bladder, wherein the self-sealing bladder is configured to contain the fluid inside the bladder wall, adjacent the outer surface of the barrier layer;
forming a plurality of localized, spaced-apart reservoirs within the central bladder area;
positioning the self-sealing bladder inside the container such that the barrier layer is interior to the second sealant-impermeable layer, with the outer surface of the barrier layer facing the internal space of the container;
and
inserting a sealant material into the central bladder area between the first sealant-impermeable layer and the second sealant-impermeable layer, such that the sealant material is distributed throughout substantially the entire central bladder area.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/722,460Filed 27 May 2015
Published: US 2016/0347038 A11 Dec 2016
Granted: 21 Mar 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification34 codes

B32B 25/042
Comprising rubber as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material: of natural…
B60K 15/03
Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or…: fuel tanks
B64D 37/06
Tanks: constructional adaptations thereof
B64D 37/32
Arrangements in connection with fuel supply for power plant: safety measures not otherwise provided for, e.g. preventing explosive conditions