Heat Transfer Calculation of Civil Aircraft Fuel Tanks Considering Combined Heat Transfer Effects

¹ COMAC Beijing Aircraft Technology Research Institute, Beijing, 102211, China
² School of Safety Science and Engineering, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, China

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

To improve the safety and thermal management efficiency of civil aircraft fuel tanks, this study investigates key components of wing-mounted tanks - specifically the tank skin and fuel pump - by developing a thermal model that accounts for combined heat transfer mechanisms. A semi-analytical explicit solution method, based on the heat balance integral method, is proposed to derive the heat transfer expressions. The accuracy of the derived results is validated through theoretical analysis. Considering the combined effects of convection, radiation, and combined convection and radiation on both the tank skin and the fuel pump, the overall heat transfer and temperature distribution within the fuel are further derived based on the principle of energy conservation. The proposed methodology and results demonstrate strong engineering relevance and offer promising potential for broader application in aircraft thermal design.