This may be a stupid question - but given that the original Europa
supplied tanks were known to have been made of the 'wrong material' are
Europa continuing to make tanks from the same 'wrong material' or are
the newly supplied tanks made of something different. It may be that
Europa are still working their way through a large original batch.
Anyone know?
Pete
On 27/03/14 09:22, GRAHAM SINGLETON wrote:
> Nigel
> early in the Europa story someome built a tank using vinyl ester
> resin, double skinned with a foam
> (acylic?) core. May have been more than one, it was offered as a mod I
> think.
> Mike Costin who came from the racing car world built an aluminium tank.
> Graham
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* "nigel_graham@m-tecque.co.uk" <nigel_graham@m-tecque.co.uk>
> *To:* europa-list@matronics.com
> *Sent:* Thursday, 27 March 2014, 8:23
> *Subject:* Re: Europa-List: Re: XS Fuel Tank Kiwi Mod
>
> <mailto:nigel_graham@m-tecque.co.uk>" <nigel_graham@m-tecque.co.uk
> <mailto:nigel_graham@m-tecque.co.uk>>
>
> I think that given a free choice, a plastic tank is the right way to
> go. Nearly all cars now use this material as is doesn't corrode, it's
> dimensionally stable, durable and crash tolerant.
>
> The problem with the Europa tank is that it was made from the wrong
> material and (unbeknown to the factory at the time) absorbed fuel and
> distorted. Also unexpected was the strength with which epoxy resin
> bonded to the tank. If built according to instructions, the tank could
> move, but some enthusiastic builders piled on the laminations that
> created stress risers which, after the passage of time, caused the
> plastic to fracture.
> Since we have no (cost effective) way to re-manufacture the tank out
> of a suitable plastic, the only options are to replace it with "more
> of the same" - meaning that in another ten years it could fail again,
> or revert to the material of choice for aircraft designers over the
> years - alumin(i)um.
> This may not be the optimum material (as other posters have outlined),
> but it is the next best option for home-builders wanting to create a
> "one-off" that is light weight and (if mounted correctly) fatigue
> resistant.
>
> Fibreglass (chopped-strand-mat/polyester resin) is a non-starter as it
> hardens over life and becomes extremely brittle. This was banned for
> use on motorcycles in the UK over forty years ago as any accident
> almost inevitably resulted in a fireball.
>
> One avenue that does not seem to have been explored is the use of
> flexible "fuel bladders" as used in the car racing world.
>
> Nigel
>
> On 27/03/2014 00:24, Andrew Sarangan wrote:
> <asarangan@gmail.com <mailto:asarangan@gmail.com>>
> >
> > Just to play devil's advocate, whats the attraction of an aluminum
> > fuel tank over a plastic one, or a fiberglass one?
> >
> > I am familiar with the problems with Europa's plastic tank, but that
> > does not mean aluminum is better. You are trading off one problem for
> > another.
> >
> > On that thought, can a tank be 3D printed?
> &gmany List utilities such as List -> http://forums.matronics.com
> <http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Europa-List>http://ww======================
>
>
> *
>
>
> *
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