In a turn, does the fuel inside an aircraft fuel tank slosh to the sides of the tank?

Question

In a turn, does the fuel inside an aircraft fuel tank slosh to the sides of the tank?

Answer 1

I can't speak to general aviation aircraft since that is not where my expertise lies. However, on commercial aircraft there are 'baffles' in place inside the wings. These block the fuel from going to the extreme ends or to the wing root while maneuvering to avoid an imbalance situation.

John B: What's a "hopper" tank?

*Edit: Who are the idiots giving me a thumbs down? I've actually been INSIDE the tanks, and there are baffles in place, so get a clue and stop being posers

Answer 2

sure it can. that's what hopper tanks are for folks. so the fuel pumps dont get starved. can happen in  level flight too in turbulence

Answer 3

Aircraft bank when they turn, so no, not to the extent that it would in a car, at least.

Answer 4

no they have baffels in the wing tanks if they turn with enough g force the plane has on each wing a vent the will keep the fuel pressureized and if need be will relese fuel.

Answer 5

Yes, to a certain degree . They pilots make slow turns not like people do in vehicles. Baffles others are talking about. They open to meter fuel to the wing root and close to prevent rapid flow of fuel to the wing tip and keep fuel at the fuel pump. They have nothing to do with sloshing due to the fact they are only about 1" x 3" big and they are on the bottom of the tank. Sloshing is slowed down by placement of the bulkheads in the tank. Which are placed about 2' apart.

Answer 6

It sure does. Fluid Dynamics Physics makes sure of that. It is called Newtons 2nd Law of Motion.

Liquid will always try to find level no matter what.

If an airplane is in a bank the fuel will slosh around, however the tanks are designed to slow the fuel movement so it does not effect the flight.

Never heard of hopper tanks.

Answer 7

In Coordinated flight, no. If the turn is Coordinated, there is no lateral G acceleration. ( a person only gets pushed downward into his seat and no sidewards motion.)

If the maneuver is uncoordinated, like in a forward slip for example, than yes fuel sloshes around. But there are also panels inside the fuel tank that reduce this effect greatly.

Answer 8

The turns that aircraft make are extremely controlled, and that does help to minimize the amount that the fuel sloshes around. But most tanks on aircraft, especially the larger ones, also have baffles to help reduce the back and forth motion of the liquid. This helps not only when the aircraft changes direction, but also helps during turbulence.

Answer 9

In corporate jets, fuel is generally controlled with baffles and various pumps and valves.  Fuel usage is usually controlled to maintain the aircraft within C.G.  Even in jets, fuel can move between various tanks in uncoordinated flight(the ball is off one way or the other-just a bit).  Flight in this mode is also an alternative means of controlling fuel balance (the ball is placed on the side you wish the fuel to flow).

Answer 10

Not if you make a coordinated turn

Answer 11

On many aircraft there are a series of baffles and restrictions built into the fuel tank to prevent large movements of fuel that would cause problems with aircraft balance, also many aircraft make use of "flapper" valves that only allow fuel to move in one direction usually from the wing tips towards the wing root.

Answer 12

In a balanced turn, either gentle or steep, regardless of the bank you apply, the fuel cannot slosh around and stays in the same state as if you were flying straight and level.

Sometimes, however, due to bad weather and unsettled conditions, the aircraft while turning can be thrown out of balance. In such cases the fuel can slosh around. To prevent sloshing, baffles (partitions) are built into the fuel tanks, sometimes with valves, which prevent undue movement of the fuel in the tanks. These also regulate and smoothen the fuel as it flows from the tanks to the engines, and from one tank to the other.