Wet wing

A wet wing is an aerospace engineering technique where an aircraft's wing structure is sealed and used as a fuel tank. Wet wings are also called integral fuel tanks.^[1] By eliminating the need for fuel bladders, aircraft can weigh less and the wing root bending moment caused by the lift generated by the wings in flight is decreased. This offers further reduction in weight by allowing structural components to be designed lighter as the components do not need to support larger forces.

Wet wings are common among most civilian designs, from large transport aircraft, such as airliners, to small general aviation aircraft. Because the tanks are an integral part of the structure, they cannot be removed, and require access panels for routine maintenance and visual inspections.

A disadvantage of the wet wing is that every rivet, bolt, nut plate, hose and tube that penetrates the wing must be sealed to prevent fuel from leaking or seeping around these hardware components. This sealant must allow for expansion and contraction due to rapid temperature changes (such as when cold fuel is pumped into a warm wing tank) and must retain its sealing properties when submerged in fuel and when left dry for long periods of time. Working with this sealant can be difficult and replacing old sealant inside a small wing tank can be harder if the old sealant needs to be removed as well before new sealant can be applied.

References

↑ Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, page 557. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-56027-287-2

Aircraft fuel tanks

Internal tanks	Ferry tank Inerting system Self-sealing fuel tank Tokyo tanks Wet wing

External tanks	Conformal fuel tank Drop tank

Related topics	Aircraft fuel system

Aircraft components and systems

Airframe structure	Aft pressure bulkhead Cabane strut Canopy Cruciform tail Dope Empennage Fabric covering Fairing Flying wires Former Fuselage Hardpoint Interplane strut Jury strut Leading edge Lift strut Longeron Nacelle Rib Ring tail Spar Stabilizer Stressed skin Strut T-tail Tailplane Trailing edge Triple tail Twin tail Vertical stabilizer V-tail Y-tail Wing root Wing tip Wingbox

Flight controls	Aileron Airbrake Artificial feel Autopilot Canard Centre stick Deceleron Dive brake Electro-hydraulic actuator Elevator Elevon Flaperon Flight control modes Fly-by-wire Gust lock Rudder Servo tab Side-stick Spoiler Spoileron Stabilator Stick pusher Stick shaker Trim tab Wing warping Yaw damper Yoke

Aerodynamic and high-lift devices	Active Aeroelastic Wing Adaptive compliant wing Blown flap Channel wing Dog-tooth Droop Flap Gouge flap Gurney flap Krueger flap Leading edge cuff LEX Slats Slot Stall strips Strake Variable-sweep wing Vortex generator Vortilon Wing fence Winglet

Avionic and flight instrument systems	ACAS Air data computer Airspeed indicator Altimeter Annunciator panel Attitude indicator Compass Course deviation indicator EFIS EICAS Flight data recorder Flight management system Glass cockpit GPS Heading indicator Horizontal situation indicator INS Pitot-static system Radar altimeter TCAS Transponder Turn and slip indicator Vertical Speed Indicator Yaw string

Propulsion controls, devices and fuel systems	Autothrottle Drop tank FADEC Fuel tank Gascolator Inlet cone Intake ramp NACA cowling Self-sealing fuel tank Splitter plate Throttle Thrust lever Thrust reversal Townend ring Wet wing

Landing and arresting gear	Arrestor hook Autobrake Conventional landing gear Drogue parachute Landing gear Landing gear extender Oleo strut Tricycle landing gear Tundra tire

Escape systems	Ejection seat Escape crew capsule

Other systems	Aircraft lavatory Auxiliary power unit Bleed air system Deicing boot Emergency oxygen system Entertainment system Environmental control system Hydraulic system Ice protection system Landing lights Navigation light Passenger service unit Ram air turbine Weeping wing

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Wet wing

See also

References