RE: Re : Bullets + Gas tanks. The truth?

["Eric Benson" <ebenson@xxxxxxxx>]

> On the same line, I 've heard that most of US cars manufacturers uses
> "normal" steel for gas tanks, insead of "softer-non sparks generator"
aloy.

Actually, manufacturers are increasingly going to plastics:

"Since the mid-1980s, automakers have been displacing coated-steel fuel
tanks
with plastic ones. During the 1993 model year, approximately 2.7-3 million
cars
and trucks built in North America used nonmetallic tanks. This represents
22-25% of the market, compared to 16% in 1990. By comparison, the European
market uses 70-90% plastic tanks, and the Japanese market uses 5% plastic
tanks4 (Figure 1)."

"Generally, plastic tanks are considered safer in crashes because they are
seamless and, thus, not prone to failures in
the vulnerable seam areas. They are not a source of sparks. "

http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9607/Alvarado-9607.html

The article is consistent with information from SAE (Society of Automotive
Engineers) on the growing use of plastics for automotive applications.  The
most recent issue, April 2001, did not have any supporting information.

The article is interesting and gives a quick overview of the different types
of tank materials and the two metal types currently in use.

They mention some of the other problems associated with plastic tanks.
Plastic tanks are non sparking but tend to fail suddenly when exposed to
high heat.

Incidentally, specifications and silhouettes are available for different
types of tank trucks from:
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/hazmat/cargo.htm

> That's why cars would tends to explodes so easely in americans movies.

No, that's due to clueless directors and brain dead audiences.

It's amazing how often things explode in an obvious petrochemical
explosion... and how the hero normally escapes seconds before.

-Eric