In aviation, self-sealing fuel tank is a fuel tank or fuel bladder technology in wide use since World War II that prevents fuel tanks (primarily on aircraft) from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged by enemy fire.
Self-sealing tanks have multiple layers of rubber and reinforcing fabric, one of vulcanized rubber and one of untreated natural rubber that can absorb oil and expand when wet. When a fuel tank is punctured, the fuel will seep into the layers, causing the swelling of the untreated layer, thus sealing the puncture.
Read more about Self-sealing Fuel Tank: World War I, World War II, Modern Use
Famous quotes containing the word fuel:
“The particular source of frustration of women observing their own self-study and measuring their worth as women by the distance they kept from men necessitated that a distance be kept, and so what vindicated them also poured fuel on the furnace of their rage. One delight presumed another dissatisfaction, but their hatefulness confessed to their own lack of power to please. They hated men because they needed husbands, and they loathed the men they chased away for going.”
—Alexander Theroux (b. 1940)