Intrinsically Safe Current Limit Study for Aircraft Fuel Tank Electronics

2006-01-2442

08/30/2006

Event
General Aviation Technology Conference & Exhibition
Authors Abstract
Content
This paper describes research performed to determine the ignition hazard presented by small fragments of superfine steel wool that may contact energized direct current wires in aircraft fuel tanks. Several different methods of shorting a circuit with steel wool were explored. An ignitable mixture of hydrogen, oxygen, and argon, calibrated to have a minimum ignition energy of 200 microjoules, was used as an ignition detection technique. The electrical currents at the ignition threshold were recorded to determine safe maximum allowable current limits for fuel tank electronics. The lowest current found to ignite the flammable mixture was 99 milliamps (mA); the lowest current found to ignite a steel wool wad in air only was 45 mA.
Meta TagsDetails
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4271/2006-01-2442
Pages
8
Citation
Ochs, R., "Intrinsically Safe Current Limit Study for Aircraft Fuel Tank Electronics," SAE Technical Paper 2006-01-2442, 2006, https://doi.org/10.4271/2006-01-2442.
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
Aug 30, 2006
Product Code
2006-01-2442
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English