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View Full Version : Torus-shaped fuel tank functionality/design


Fiwithwings
30th Oct 2010, 13:22
The real crunch however, was how to arrange pneumatic services from an APU: Tank 11 was directly forward of the tailcone, so this would have meant either ducting the pneumatics THROUGH the fuel tank (not a particularly good idea http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/smile.gif)

I'm quoting from the earlier thread about why Concorde didn't have an APU. I know just about nothing about the functionality or design of fuel tanks, so I'm just wondering - what are the reasons against having a torus-shaped fuel tank? Obviously not necessarily a perfect torus, but I wonder why it wouldn't have been possible to simply manufacture a fuel tank of whatever shape with a donut-style hole somewhere in it to allow the hydraulics to safely pass through the middle of the hole? I guess there's some reason about what a fuel tank does that means this isn't done, and I'm curious as to what it is.

Thanks! :)