Analysis Methodologies for As-Manufactured Composite Pressure Vessels

Abstract

Type IV composite pressure vessels (CPVs) are used commercially for the gaseous storage of hydrogen in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). However, their economic implementation requires material optimization and a reliable prediction of the vessel strength. In this regard, their burst when loaded under internal pressure is impacted by the combined effect of the stacking sequence design and the variability of mechanical properties resulting from the manufacturing process. This work shows a framework for analysis that accounts for some of these manufacturing-induced characteristics in the mechanical response, namely the relation between the vessel stacking sequence, its final geometry, and the material properties. Furthermore, vessel burst pressures are alternatively estimated from the failure criteria evaluation in constitutively elastic analyses and the modeling of damage progression. Predictions are reasonably accurate when the collapse occurs in the cylinder (+2.2 %), although a more considerable discrepancy exists with experimental results when vessels fail in the dome transition region (+12.3 %).