Claims
- 1. A booster tank for a space launch vehicle, the booster tank comprising:a metal wall with an inner wall surface forming an internal containment area within the booster tank; a silicate film on the inner wall surface, the silicate film inhibiting corrosion of the inner wall surface.
- 2. The booster tank of claim 1, wherein the metal wall is made of an aluminum-containing metallic material.
- 3. The booster tank of claim 2, wherein the aluminum-containing metallic material is an aluminum alloy.
- 4. The booster tank of claim 3, wherein the metal wall is comprised of a plurality of aluminum-alloy barrel panels.
- 5. The booster tank of claim 1, wherein the inner wall surface comprises an isogrid pattern having a multiplicity of interconnecting ridges.
- 6. The booster tank of claim 1, wherein the silicate film comprises an Al—O—Si compound.
- 7. The booster tank of claim 1, wherein the tank has a capacity of at least 26,000 gallons.
- 8. The booster tank of claim 1, wherein the silicate film has a thickness of about 25 angstroms as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectrographic analysis.
- 9. A space launch vehicle comprising the booster tank of claim 1.
- 10. The space launch vehicle of claim 9, wherein the booster tank is filled with a fluid selected from the group consisting of a rocket propellant fuel and liquid oxygen, the fluid being in contact with the silicate film.
- 11. A space launch vehicle comprising a plurality of the booster tank of claim 1, wherein:a first said booster tank contains a rocket propellant fuel in contact with the silicate film of the first said booster tank; a second said booster tank containing liquid oxygen in contact with the silicate film of the second said booster tank.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/757,387, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INHIBITING CORROSION OF METAL CONTAINERS AND COMPONENTS”, filed Jan. 8, 2001 now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/289,373, filed Apr. 8, 1999 now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/081,094 filed Apr. 8, 1998, the contents of all of which are incorporated by reference herein as if each were set forth herein in full.
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Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/757387 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Child |
09/839606 |
|
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Parent |
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Apr 1999 |
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Child |
09/757387 |
|
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