A Combustion Model for the TWA 800 Center-Wing Fuel Tank Explosion

Abstract

In support of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the TWA Flight 800 accident, a combined experimental/computational effort was conducted that focused on quarter-scale testing and simulation of the fuel-air explosion in the Boeing 747 center wing fuel tank. This report summarizes the modeling approach used at Sandia National Laboratories. In this approach approximations are introduced that capture the essential physics associated with turbulent flame propagation in multiple compartment fuel tanks. This model efficiently defines the pressure loading conditions during a jet-fuel air explosion in a fuel tank confinement. Modeling calculations compare favorably with a variety of experimental quarter-scale tests conducted in rigid confinement. The modeling describes well the overpressure history in several geometry configurations. Upon demonstrating a reasonable comparison to experimental observations, a parametric study of eight possible ignition sources is then discussed. Model calculations demonstrate that different loading conditions arise as the location of the ignition event is varied. By comparing the inferred damage and calculated impulses to that seen in the recovered tank, it may be possible to reduce the number of likely sources. A possible extension of this work to better define tank damage includes coupling the combustion model as a pressure loading routine for structural failure analysis.

Performance analysis of aircraft fuel tank inerting system with turbocharger

“…3 In July 1996, the aircraft for TWA flight 800 broke up after the flight departed from New York's Kennedy International Airport due to an explosion of the central wing tank. 4 In May 2006, the wing tank of a Boeing 727 exploded on the ground due to the ignition source of an electrical connection between a special Teflon sleeving and a metallic surface. 5 Research on the flammability of a fuel tank has been valued since these accidents, 6,7 and extensive experiments have been performed and methods have been developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to significantly reduce the exposure of an aircraft fuel tank to flammable conditions.…”

Digital holography interferometry for measuring the mass diffusion coefficients of N2 in RP-3 and RP-5 jet fuels

“…When the oxygen concentration in the aircraft tank ullage is above the limiting oxygen concentration (LOC), it is prone to fire and explosion if an external ignition source, such as lightning, static electricity or a cannon strike, occurs (Summer, 2003; Cai et al , 2015). Since the explosion of the center wing fuel tank of TWA 800 in 1996, it has been important to reduce the oxygen concentration for fuel tank safety (Baer and Gross, 1998; Renouard-Vallet et al , 2010). Extensive development and analysis have indicated that an aircraft fuel tank inerting technology with nitrogen-enriched air (NEA) is the most practical and cost-effective inerting technology for aircraft fuel tank protection and to enhance aircraft survivability (Cavage, 2005; Cavage and Bowman, 2005; Fabio et al , 2016).…”