A Practical Fuel Tank Inerting System for Commercial Aircraft

The ultimate objective of the proposed project is to develop a practical onboard, inert-gas generation system for fuel tank inerting on commercial aircraft. The system would operate autonomously and provide inert gas on demand to the fuel tank ullage. The proposed system would be based upon Total Air Liquefaction for Oxygen and Nitrogen (TALON) technology presently being developed for the U.S. Air Force's C-17 aircraft. As compared with other approaches to onboard inert-gas generation (e.g. molecular sieves or semi-permeable membranes), TALON requires only 1/5 the bleed air and is about 1/2 the weight. In the proposed project, we will adapt and optimize the technology to meet the requirements for a commercial system. TALON also has the potential to provide nitrogen for fire suppression and oxygen to replenish emergency oxygen systems. The Phase I effort will focus on developing specifications for a commercial TALON system, producing a preliminary system design, identifying key technology elements that require further development, and a producing a preliminary palletized system design for a future Boeing 747 test. In Phase II, we will demonstrate key technology components and further define the palletized system test to be conducted during Phase III.