Abstract
There have been many recorded incidents of aircraft fuel tank ignition.
While electrostatic discharges have undoubtedly started fires during
fuelling on the ground, the cause of in-flight fuel tank explosions
is difficult to establish and attributing these events to static
electricity is very controversial. This paper describes an experimental
investigation into the charging of isolated objects in a fuel spray
representing the practical circumstance of the electrical isolation
of pipe clamps from the grounded pipe within the fuel tank. The results,
which are presented, show that while charging readily occurs, insufficient
charge is retained by the target objects, under the present conditions,
even to cause sparking. The influence of fuel conductivity on the
balance between the rates of charging and charge leakage from the
target is examined. The data shows that while fluids with considerable
conductivity may wet the insulating material supporting the target
object, the leakage resistance can be high. It is concluded that
under certain circumstances, increasing fuel conductivity may, therefore,
exacerbate the electrostatic problem.
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