Cryogenic fuel tanks for use in aircraft structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9493246-B2
Application number	US-201314025437-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2013
Priority date	Sep 12, 2013
Publication date	Nov 15, 2016
Grant date	Nov 15, 2016

Abstract

Cryogenic fuels tanks for use in aircraft structures are disclosed herein. An example apparatus disclosed herein an airfoil-shaped structure disposed outboard of a fuselage of an aircraft. The example apparatus also includes a first cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the airfoil-shaped structure.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
an airfoil-shaped structure disposed outboard of a fuselage of an aircraft;
a first cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the airfoil-shaped structure; and
a second cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the airfoil-shaped structure, a surface of the second cryogenic fuel tank coupled to a surface of the first cryogenic fuel tank to form a wall extending between the first cryogenic fuel tank and the second cryogenic fuel tank along a longitudinal axis defined by the surface of the first cryogenic fuel tank and the surface of the second cryogenic fuel tank, the wall coupled to the airfoil-shaped structure to support a portion of at least one of an aerodynamic load or a structural load applied to the airfoil-shaped structure.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the airfoil-shaped structure is at least one of a wing, a horizontal stabilizer, a vertical stabilizer, an engine pylon, a wing strut, a canard or an empennage strut.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first cryogenic fuel tank extends spanwise relative to the aircraft.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a baffle disposed in the first cryogenic fuel tank to impede fuel flow in a spanwise direction.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including a support extending through the first cryogenic fuel tank.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first cryogenic fuel tank is to support a first portion of the at least one of the aerodynamic load or the structural load applied to the airfoil-shaped structure.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the second cryogenic fuel tank is to support a second portion of the at least one of the aerodynamic load or the structural load.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a rib coupled to the first cryogenic fuel tank and the airfoil-shaped structure.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein a fuel passageway of the first cryogenic fuel tank extends through the rib.

10. An apparatus, comprising:
a housing of an aircraft, the housing disposed outboard of a fuselage of the aircraft;
a first cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the housing; and
a second cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the housing, a surface of the second cryogenic fuel tank coupled to a surface of the first cryogenic fuel tank to form a wall extending between the first cryogenic fuel tank and the second cryogenic fuel tank along a longitudinal axis defined by the surface of the first cryogenic fuel tank and the surface of the second cryogenic fuel tank, the wall coupled to the housing to support a portion of at least one of an aerodynamic load or a structural load applied to the housing.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a first portion of the first cryogenic fuel tank extends substantially parallel to a second portion of the second cryogenic fuel tank.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising a rib coupled to the first cryogenic fuel tank and the housing, wherein a first fuel passageway of the first cryogenic fuel tank extends through a first aperture defined by the rib.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a second fuel passageway of the second fuel tank extends through a second aperture defined by the rib.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first cryogenic fuel tank includes a first section and a second section, the second section outboard of the first section.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the second section is a cap.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the first section is cylindrical and the second section is tapered.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the first section is in a first orientation relative to the fuselage and the second section is in a second orientation different than the first orientation relative to the fuselage.

18. An apparatus, comprising:
a housing of an aircraft, the housing disposed outboard of a fuselage of the aircraft; and
a cryogenic fuel tank bundle substantially filling a space inside the housing, the cryogenic fuel tank bundle including a first cryogenic fuel tank and a second cryogenic fuel tank, a surface of the second cryogenic fuel tank coupled to a surface of the first cryogenic fuel tank to form a wall extending between the first cryogenic fuel tank and the second cryogenic fuel tank along a longitudinal axis defined by the surface of the first cryogenic fuel tank and the surface of the second cryogenic fuel tank, the wall coupled to the housing to support a portion of at least one of an aerodynamic load or a structural load applied to the housing.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein a chord of the housing at least one of increases or decreases along a portion of a span of the housing.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the cryogenic fuel tank bundle includes a network of supports arranged in a lattice along a longitudinal axis of the fuel tank bundle.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the cryogenic fuel tank is disposed in an array.

22. An apparatus, comprising:
an airfoil-shaped structure disposed outboard of a fuselage of an aircraft, the airfoil-shaped structure having a first surface coupled to the fuselage and a second surface coupled to the fuselage, the first surface spaced apart from the second surface;
a first cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the airfoil-shaped structure; and
a second cryogenic fuel tank disposed inside the airfoil-shaped structure, the first surface and the second surface defining a first axis extending between the first surface and the second surface and passing through the first cryogenic fuel tank and the second cryogenic fuel tank, the first axis parallel to a second axis defined by the fuselage, the second axis extending through the fuselage perpendicular to at least a portion of the first surface and at least a portion of the second surface.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Barmichev Sergey D
• Sankrithi Mithra M K V
• Stuhr Victor K

Classifications

• B64C3/34

  Tanks constructed integrally with wings, e.g. for fuel or water · CPC title

• B64D37/30

  Fuel systems for specific fuels · CPC title

• B64D37/04 Primary

  Arrangement thereof in or on aircraft · CPC title

• Y02T90/44

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02T90/40

  Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells · CPC title