The topic of water and ice in aircraft fuel systems is complex. Water can cause a variety of system and equipment effects, including fuel gauging system malfunctions and icing of equipment in fuel tanks and in engine feed lines which can lead to other operational issues. Effective water management is therefore key in avoiding these issues and in minimising operational costs.
WEC has supported its clients in developing leading edge systems and equipment solutions to manage water in fuel. This work has resulted in safer and more reliable fuel systems on a number of different aircraft platforms.
One project involved a large passenger aircraft with an extremely complex fuel system. Following fuel system design improvements implemented by the client, WEC was tasked with establishing if the scheduled water drain task interval could be extended and if so, by how much?
