Originally Posted by RallyBob
I thought about that too, but I suspect the fuel volume inside the tank will have a cooling effect on the metal of the tank itself, especially sloshing about and all that.
|
Just a little on thermodynamics, Bob. The skin of the fuel tank will try to maintain a happy medium throughout its surface. So if it gets warmer in one area, the heat will transfer to the rest of the skin. Then of course the fuel will also try to heat up, but, because there's more volume of fuel the temp increase will only be a couple of degrees. Got this education on the Blackbird. Skin temp was around 600-1200 degrees F, and fuel temp going to the engines was around 450 degrees F. If the fuel got too hot, it was routed back to the tanks to get cooled down, again.