Have you ever wondered why the wings, despite their thinness, can hold dozens of tons of fuel? Let me break it open and rub this thin wing for you, and see how tough its inner "muscles" are!
When an aircraft takes off, the fuel in the wing reservoir weighs about tens of tons, how can the wing withstand such a weight?
Don't worry, we'll solve the mystery for you one by one.
Don't underestimate the slender wing, it has an indestructible "reinforced concrete" inside! The main body of the wing is composed of high-strength metal alloys or advanced composite materials, which is as hard as a human skeleton, and the internal is supported by countless "muscles" woven from fibers, which can easily carry the burden of nearly 100 tons of oil, and will never be crushed as light and fluttering as paper paste.
But even if the wings are strong, in the face of the violent air impact and fuselage bumps, you have to be more careful.
Fortunately, the aircraft has special "shockproof devices", such as shock absorbers, buffers, etc., which protect the wings, so that even if it suffers from violent turbulence and shaking in flight, the oil in it will never sway and splash all over the sky.
Even the design of the fuel tanks inside the wings is a testament to the ingenuity of the engineers, with partitions partitioning the space inside the tanks, so that the fluid is trapped in their own "small rooms", even when the aircraft is swaying in mid-air, they are not moving and orderly.
The fuel tank wall liner also absorbs vibrations and improves structural reliability. Even the oil pipe interface uses special seals, want to leak oil? There are no doors!
Shockproof, partitioned, sealed, three-pronged protection of the wing fuel tank, it also allows a considerable proportion of fuel to be safely stored here, this "narrow and thin" wing, behind the actually carrying the wisdom and ingenuity of the designers!
Don't think that an airplane wing is just a thin shell, its internal structure can be much more sophisticated! The interior of the wing is like a "small factory", with a criss-cross truss skeleton, skin overlay and other structures, all of which are ingenious and sophisticated, all to ensure that the wing can function properly in extreme environments and ensure flight safety.
The outer skin of the wing is like wearing steel armor, which can not only resist the invasion of cold and wind and rain from the outside world, but also improve the aerodynamic performance of the wing, so that the aircraft can fly all the way in the high air, reduce drag and improve efficiency.
Therefore, although the wing is thin but not fragile and fragile, it is like a piece of military armor, and the defense capability is super superior, especially the inner structure is like a precise and orderly miniature factory workshop, specially designed to escort the flight, with its strong internal support, no wonder nearly 100 tons of fuel can lie on it safely, and it is not stage frightened at all.
Don't look at the whole plane, it's a small one, but slightly lift the fuselage coat, and there is something inside it! In particular, the cabin of the plane, which occupies almost half of the main space, is all vacated for passengers to rest.
The rest of the area is all allocated to the cockpit, engine room, operation room and other important equipment areas, where can there be enough space for fuel tanks?
Therefore, wing fuel storage has become the best choice, with enough space and solid structure, and most importantly, it can reasonably distribute the weight of the fuel tank, so that the aircraft can fly more steadily and fuel-efficient in the air.
Hiding the fuel tank in the wing reduces wind resistance, avoids long pipelines, reduces energy loss, and improves system reliability.
It's really killing three birds with one stone, and it's no wonder that such a clever design will be used for decades! It can be said that when the wings show their skills, they are not only carrying weight in flight, but they are born with a "big living Lei Feng".
If you had to redesign the aircraft, would it expand the fuel tank space even further? But this can only be a dream, after all, the aircraft architect used all his resources to plan the space to the extreme.
In addition, the expansion of the fuel tank may only have to sacrifice the passenger area. But then the original intention of maximizing profits is carried away, who wants to save more fuel without regard for the comfort of passengers? Therefore, you and I should cherish the wisdom of engineers!
However, the future of new energy aircraft may make the entire configuration change dramatically, and the location, quantity and material of fuel tank storage may be similar to today's. At that time, we will no longer be constrained by traditional thinking, but will look at change and embrace the future!