To help you understand the need for bonding and grounding of fuel dispensing equipment, the following information is offered. Since the cold war, aerial refueling tanker aircraft have been a key enabler of air power and of joint force operations. Electrical charge depends on the speed of surface friction, size of contact area, humidity, etc. Pressure refuelling is normal for multi crew transport aircraft and business jets but gravity. Attach the bonding cable to a suitable point on the aircraft like the exhaust stub or undercarriage leg. Box 3345, d38023 braunschweig, germany in germany, between 1992 and 1995, more than 30 ignitions of gasolineairmixtures at public filling stations have. What is the danger of static electricity when refuelling. Lufthansa airbus a380 departure from san francisco english subtitles duration. The issues are much the same whether the fuel source is a tankerbowser or a fuel hydrant system. The spark can ignite set fire to flammable liquids, vapours and powders in pipes how can fuel flowing through a pipe cause an explosion care must be taken to avoid sparks when putting fuel in cars or aircraft. They are designed to provide a proper and reliable management of fuel resources throughout all phases of operation, notwithstanding. The vehicle performing fueling operations is not to be positioned within 10 feet of the aircraft fuel vent system. Notes on electrostatics these notes are meant for my phy3 lecture class, but all are free to use them and i hope they help. Emerging market fuels expansion the pei journal online pdf file, 71 kb millennium systems international aviation fueling engineering seminar pdf file, 657 kb facet technical bulletin re.
Standard intoplane fueling service levels and safety iata. The transfer of charge happens because there is friction between the fuel and the pipe. Issue 5 december 2012 experimental studies of lightning strikes to aircraft al0506 3 rather to measure the electromagnetic effect of nearby lightning flashes. The fuel itself is an insulator a hydrocarbon and charge can be transferred as the fuel flows through a pipe if the pipe is also an insulator. Static electricity what you should know about it and. This is done to earth all equipment to prevent possible sparking. Airliners the more recently built ones, at least do have a system that puts nitrogenenriched air not pure nitrogen, but more n2 and less o2 than ambient into the fuel tanks to reduce the risk of a twa 800 fuel. The aircraft fuel system and engine fuel system as well as the type, designation, and requirements of the aircraft fuels, are discussed in this chapter. The first step problem p1 is deriving an algorithm that finds the optimal aerial refueling points for a single aircraft deployment with multiple. Refueling of all types of military and commercial aircraft as wide body aircraft, tanker aircraft, tactical aircraft, helicopter but also airfield tank trucks. Ground servicing of aircraft and static groundingbonding f0960399d0382 distribution statement a approved for public release. The accumulation of electrostatic charge, generating during flight on the outer surfaces of aircraft and inside aircraft piping systems, cannot be considered as an immediate danger for flight safety, but it has to be seriously prevented to avoid upset in flight communications and risks of explosion in fuel areas or during refueling operations. How does electrostatic energy build up during refueling.
Static electricity and the safety hazard when refueling. This paper piggybacks on that research and extends it. When you have completed this chapter, you will be able to do the following. Static electricity and aircraft gigliotti major reference works. Upon aircraft arrival, obtain quantity and grades of products required from airline or aircraft personnel. Hose and nozzle safety during plane refueling there are many safety precautions associated with planes and flying. The design for manufacturing and assembly analysis and redesign of an aircraft refueling door hinge utilizing additive. Electrical bonding and protection against static electricity federal. The prevention of fires and explosions resulting from electrostatic discharges in aircraft fuel systems is of special concern to aircraft designers and operators. The aircraft should not be approached until it has come to a complete stop, the engines have been shut down, and it is ready for servicing. Pdf feasibility of an electrostatic energy harvesting device for. Thoroughly drain all of the aircrafts sumps, drains, and strainers before a flight to get rid of all the water that might have collected. Monitor change out pressure pdf file, 105 kb facet.
Static grounding reels for fuel transit and aircraft refueling. Emiliano ippoliti coulombs law 3 let us consider two pointlike electric charges q and q at position x 1 and x 2, respectively. Otherwise, the hand signals in figure 11 will be used. Aircraft refueling systems aviation refueling systems. It is assumed that the test charge q is small and therefore does not change the distribution of the source charges. In previous research, the problem of having a single aircraft deployment with one instantaneous aerial refueling has been explored and solved. The fueling vehicle should be positioned with a clear path to permit its rapid removal. Fortunately, the accident record during aircraft fueling has been somewhat better.
When the aeroplanes are charged after travelling in the air and contact with air particle the potential difference between it and the earth is very high so electrons try to jump from the craft to. As the nozzle the end of the pipe is brought close to the fuel tank, a spark can jump between. Modifications have been made to many of these tanker aircraft kc5s and kc10s to make them more effective in refueling fighter aircraft. This handbook is for guidance only and cannot be cited as a requirement. This report, which will be updated, examines the balance between two different. These make use of both repulsion of like charges, and attraction of opposite charges. Static electricity is caused by friction between dissimiliar materials, specifically at the molecular level. Aircraft high level shutoff valves must be prechecked at the beginning of the hot refueling operation. There are many industrial uses of static electricity. To the best of my knowledge, there werent any usaf cargo aircraft which were capable of. The ideas are presented roughly in the order in which they are taught in my class, and are designed to supplement the text.
Aircraft refueling door hinge utilizing additive manufacturing. Analysis of fuel consumption for an aircraft deployment. Rfi is reduced by preventing the uncontrolled discharge of static electricity from the aircraft to the surrounding air. In the subsection named strategic uses and considerations, the text discusses the use of tankers to refuel cargo aircraft inflight and implies that inflight refuling of cargo aircraft was used during the vietnam conflict era. I will be writing these notes as i teach the class, so they will be constantly updated and modi ed. What you should know about it and recommendations when refuelling aircraft from containers. One that might not necessarily be the most talked or written about has to do with static electricity and fueling up a plane with a hose and nozzle. This ac provides an acceptable means of complying with title 14 code of federal regulations cfr part 9 hereinafter referred to as part 9 for all part 9 airport operators. Study of electricity in which electric charges are static i. Accounting and stock control procedures are not included in this handbook or in the natops manual. Aircraft direct refueling arms, called pantographs, refueling directly the aircraft. One of the more peculiar phenomena to which aircraft are exposed, both in the air and on the ground, is static electricity. Once fuel gets to the tanks there are vents in the wing to allow air out of the tanks as liquid fuel is pumped in.
In some cases, the fuel is routed directly from the tank to the engine while in others, it is transferred from one wing tank to the opposite wing tank. Crossfeed allows for fuel from one wing tank to be burned by the engine on the other wing. Touch the nozzle on the cap prior to opening the tank cap. Dirt can get into the fuel if refueling equipment is poorly maintained or if the refueling operation is sloppy. The object which has electrostatic charge tends to has neutral.
Static grounding reels for industrial and military applications hunter spring is a supplier to several customers in the aircraft refueling and fuel transportation industries, and meets exacting specifications aa50696 in critical applications, where the discharge of static electricity could cause a spark and subsequent explosion. Critical refueling rates are related to the airplane refueling installations and the designer should seek the advice of fuel suppliers on this problem. The cart is powered by diesel engine coupled to an hydraulic pump supplying all the cart systems. Uses and dangers of electrostatics static electricity. Static electricity in flight threatens aircraft safety. Generation of electrostatic charge in fuel handling systems dtic. An application of refueling operation 163 by tank basis. Dangers of static charge electrostatic charge is dangerous. These particles are then heated by a laser beams to locally melt them causing adhesion to each.
The two main refueling systems are probeanddrogue, which is simpler to adapt to existing aircraft, and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel. The electric field e, generated by a collection of source charges, is defined as e f q where f is the total electric force exerted by the source charges on the test charge q. Aircraft fuel systems roy langton, chuck clark, martin. Decisions on the composition of the air force aerial refueling fleet were made decades ago, when the primary mission was to refuel longrange strategic bombers. The design for manufacturing and assembly analysis and. How to conduct safe aircraft refuel servicing operations. Attach the bonding cable from the fuel nozzle to near the tank cap. The main objective of the project is to provide simulation and visualization tools which can be used for studies and training of airtoair refueling.
Electrostatics is a problem requiring consideration in refueling because of something called triboelectric effect. Aircraft refuelling and defuelling are accompanied by attendant hazards which must be managed sufficiently for their mitigation to acceptable levels. The reason for using a bonding strap during refueling is that when an electrically, nonconductive fluid like jet a or 100ll is transferred, these liquids build up static electricity that can arc and cause a fire if not dissipated. Electrostatic charge may also build up in the fuel during fueling and if the. It is a branch of physics that deals with the phenomena and properties of stationary or slowmoving electric charges with no acceleration. Another significant issue in aircraft life is the possible electrostatic charge accumulation during refueling operations. Dangers of static charge electrostatic charge is dangerous when itcauses lightning and sparks that can ignite fuel when an aircraft is beingrefuelled with kerosene paraffin and when a car is being refuelled with petrolfriction forces cause charge separation charge separation result in the metalframe of an aircraft gaining an opposite charge. Lately, i have received a number of questions concerning grounding or bonding an aircraft during the refueling process.
Airtoair refueling process with the jas 39 gripen cd as the refueling aircraft and c hercules as the tanker aircraft see fig. Static electricity and the safety hazard when refueling the discharge of static electricity while dispensing fuel is a serious hazard that can potentially result in a catastrophic fire or explosion. Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, inflight refueling ifr, airtoair refueling aar, and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft the tanker to another the receiver during flight. Desert storage preservation and process manual for aircraft, aircraft engines, and. Other requests for this document shall be referred to 584 cbssgbhde, robins afb, ga 31098. What are the dangers of electrostatic charge when charge jumps across an air gap it causes a spark.
The fuel systems on board modern aircraft are multifunctional, fully integrated complex networks. It states that the electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion between two charged bodies is directly proportional to the product of their charges and varies inversely as the square of the distance between the two bodies. Plane refueling safety with hose and nozzle rawhide fire. The use of electrical equipment on the servicing ramp during fueling shall be. Pdf a novel energy harvesting concept is proposed for treating local electrostatic energy. This is due tothe electrical fieldthat exi sts betweenthe earthand the ionosphere,the ionosphere beingapproximately300,000volt. The aircraft was instrumented to measure the electric atmospheric field near thunderstorms and to record the hf transient signal produced on test equipment inside and outside the.
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