A fuel tank includes a tank body and a built-in component, which has a head portion, a neck portion, and a shoulder portion, the built-in component being anchored to the tank body with a parison wrapped around the neck portion during molding of the tank body. The head portion and the neck portion are formed with at least one hollowed portion, which is open to an end surface of the head portion, and a cap member is provided to seal an opening of the at least one hollowed portion.

Methods for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic polymer workpieces and assemblies made therefrom are provided. The method may comprise disposing a first region of a first thermoplastic polymer workpiece and a second region of a second thermoplastic polymer workpiece between an ultrasonic horn and an anvil of an ultrasonic welding device. The first workpiece has a preformed deformation and at least one of the first and/or second workpieces has an adhesive precursor applied thereto. The ultrasonic horn or anvil seats within the preformed deformation. Ultrasonic energy is applied from the ultrasonic horn to create a weld nugget between the first and second workpieces. The assembly thus formed has a green strength sufficient to be further processed immediately. The methods provide a robust weld joint with controlled adhesive bondline thickness.

A component comprising a sheet-like reinforcing component having a first stiffness and a sheet-like attachment made of an attachment material having a second stiffness, wherein the first stiffness is higher than the second stiffness, wherein the planar reinforcing component has an upper and lower side and the attachment is connected at least to the upper or lower side of the planar reinforcing component in a first partial area of the planar reinforcing component.

An internally reinforced thermoplastic container has a body manufactured using rotational molding. Prior to molding, attachment elements are releasably attached to the interior surface of parts of a mold, and an initially separate tension member is connected between the attachment elements. The mold is closed and a body of the container molded such that the attachment elements are integrated into the walls of the body. After molding, the attachment elements are released from the mold. The attachment elements and the tension member define a tension structure to resist outward bulging of the container walls. The tension member may be tensioned prior to or after molding of the container body. The attachment elements may take the form of eyelets having a base incorporated into the wall of the container body. The method enables the formation of a hollow thermoplastic container with integrally formed internal reinforcement.

A fuel tank manufacturing apparatus for a fuel tank, the fuel tank having therein a built-in component with a head portion, a neck portion, and a shoulder portion, and having the built-in component anchored to a tank body with a part of a parison wrapped around the neck portion during molding the tank body, includes: a pair of molding dies to have the parison transferred to the built-in component by blow molding; and shaping devices respectively provided in the pair of molding dies, wherein the shaping devices each include: an end surface to contact the parison; a recess provided in the end surface to receive the head portion and the neck portion and covered by the shoulder portion during molding; and an air hole provided in an area of a bottom surface of the recess corresponding to the head portion through which air pressure is applied toward the head portion.

The present application relates to a method of forming a structural portion of a fuel tank for an aircraft in which the structural portion is formed from a fibre reinforced polymer and a sensor is integrated in the structural portion. The method includes providing a fibre ply which acts as a structural component, and embroidering an electrically conductive wire in a predetermined pattern on the fibre ply to form the sensor. The fibre ply acts as a sensor substrate. Furthermore, the method includes applying a polymer matrix to the fibre ply so that the fibre ply and electrically conductive wire are covered by the polymer matrix. The present application also relates to a fuel tank for an aircraft, a fuel quantity indicating system, and an aircraft.

A method for producing a plastic container by internal pressure forming including arranging a hose-shaped preform between the molding dies of a mold, formed having a mold cavity; closing the mold and forming or preforming a container from the preform by internal pressure, wherein a circumferential section of the preform is pressed through a mold gap into a chamber surrounding the mold cavity and is pressed in the chamber against claw pairs having stationary inner retaining claws and movable outer tear-away claws; and laterally moving the outer tear-away claws, causing the circumferential section between the outer tear-away claws and the inner retaining claws to be torn open and the container to be split into two container halves. Also disclosed is a mold suitable for performing the method.

A fuel system component used to supply a fuel to a fuel tank or used to discharge the fuel from the fuel tank comprises a first resin layer; and a second resin layer formed in a similar color to that of the first resin layer and configured to include a welding portion that is welded to the first resin layer and an exposed portion that is not adjacent to or in contact with the first resin layer. A belt-like portion is formed on a first resin layer-side surface of the exposed portion to be parallel to a boundary between the welding portion and the exposed portion and is configured to include at least one of a concave and a convex extended intermittently or continuously.

Methods for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic polymer workpieces and assemblies made therefrom are provided. The method may comprise disposing a first region of a first thermoplastic polymer workpiece and a second region of a second thermoplastic polymer workpiece between an ultrasonic horn and an anvil of an ultrasonic welding device. The first workpiece has a preformed deformation and at least one of the first and/or second workpieces has an adhesive precursor applied thereto. The ultrasonic horn or anvil seats within the preformed deformation. Ultrasonic energy is applied from the ultrasonic horn to create a weld nugget between the first and second workpieces. The assembly thus formed has a green strength sufficient to be further processed immediately. The methods provide a robust weld joint with controlled adhesive bondline thickness.

Methods and systems are provided for aging a new plastic fuel tank in a vehicle. In one example, during a plug-in event to recharge a battery of the vehicle, the fuel tank is isolated and the fuel pump is actuated to agitate fuel within the tank and increase fuel vapors until the plastic fuel tank becomes aged to a predetermined degree by fuel vapors generated therein. In this manner, the fuel tank is aged more rapidly, resulting in more accurate fuel level readings and less noise and vibration.