Long-Term Storage and Evaluation of USMC Collapsible Fabric Tanks
Abstract
The overall objective of this effort was to evaluate a series of collapsible fabric tanks (CFT) under simulated operational conditions. Long-standing field experience has witnessed the propensity of some tanks to fail catastrophically due to material or construction flaws. The proposed CFT test articles under investigation were a mix of unused tanks currently in the USMC inventory and new candidate tanks. The existing tanks vary by manufacturer, material, and age. For tanks currently in the USMC inventory, the goal was to determine if long-term dry-storage impacts the operational life of the tank. A total of nine candidate 20,000 gallon capacity CFTs were evaluated under this test program at the SwRI CFT Facility in San Antonio, TX. Three of these CFTs failed to advance past the 30-day static soak fuel storage phase of the testing, as they developed significant fuel leaks. All six of the remaining CFTs that entered the second phase of the testing completed it successfully in December 2021 without significant fuel loss.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 25, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1163387
Entities
People
- Kevin L. Shannon