Clean air act

Engineers at

in Portsmouth, have developed an improved material for aircraft fuel bladders as part of an initiative to reduce and remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from fuel tank manufacturing.

The material is created using a new tank assembly process that removes ozone-depleting chemicals used in traditional rubber manufacture, and eliminates most adhesives and the solvents they contain.

Manufactured from a flexible, single-skin thermoplastic polymer, rather than traditional nitrile rubber, the bladder incorporates a crash and puncture-resistant textile based on a woven aramid fibre.

Traditionally, manufacturers thought they could only achieve these features using multiple layers of composites with adhesives joining the bladder to the protective textile layers. The drawbacks of this method are that it uses solvent-based adhesives and a final lacquer coating to protect the exterior of the bladder — both of which produce VOCs.

The material also contains an integrated fuel barrier to provide the same level of fuel tolerance as traditional tanks.