Arbalete
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2021
- Messages
- 60
Building the fuel tank for my replica project will be amongst the next steps.
It's a drum shaped tank and takes some 300 liters jet fuel. The original tank was built from 2mm aluminium sheet metal. The baffle walls were rivetet to the sidewall with each rivet head welded over to seal it off. The front and end cover were welded to the sidewalls (butt joints).
There must be a better way of doing this.
Option 1
Stick to the 2mm aluminium construction but skip the welding part. In order to save the welding of the front and rear end covers I altered the design so they can be riveted on. Sealing will be a challenge. Applying Proseal between every joint is a must. Sealing the rivets by covering them on the inside with Proseal will work for most of them. But there will be some rivets which won't be reachable with the tank fully assembled. Top sealing won't be possible there. There are rivets on the market which are claimed to be fuel tight. I have some doubts however and I hate to find out that they leak.
Option 2
Build the tank in composite. All parts can be manufactured separately by using fuel resistant composite materials. Then they will be attached to each other through riveting and epoxy glueing before covering the entire tank outside surface with some more composite layers. That will seal off the end joints and the rivets plus add some more strength.
Anyone with experience in building a composite fuel tank of comparable size? What would be your choice?
It's a drum shaped tank and takes some 300 liters jet fuel. The original tank was built from 2mm aluminium sheet metal. The baffle walls were rivetet to the sidewall with each rivet head welded over to seal it off. The front and end cover were welded to the sidewalls (butt joints).
There must be a better way of doing this.
Option 1
Stick to the 2mm aluminium construction but skip the welding part. In order to save the welding of the front and rear end covers I altered the design so they can be riveted on. Sealing will be a challenge. Applying Proseal between every joint is a must. Sealing the rivets by covering them on the inside with Proseal will work for most of them. But there will be some rivets which won't be reachable with the tank fully assembled. Top sealing won't be possible there. There are rivets on the market which are claimed to be fuel tight. I have some doubts however and I hate to find out that they leak.
Option 2
Build the tank in composite. All parts can be manufactured separately by using fuel resistant composite materials. Then they will be attached to each other through riveting and epoxy glueing before covering the entire tank outside surface with some more composite layers. That will seal off the end joints and the rivets plus add some more strength.
Anyone with experience in building a composite fuel tank of comparable size? What would be your choice?
