Designing the Type V Linerless Pressure Vessels

Design of the Flying Vehicles Elements from Polymer Composite Materials


Аuthors

Mukhai M. A.*, Skleznev A. A.**, Kolenichenko G. ***

Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University), 4, Volokolamskoe shosse, Moscow, А-80, GSP-3, 125993, Russia

*e-mail: maxmukhay@hotmail.com
**e-mail: SkleznevAA@mai.ru
***e-mail: kolenichenkog@mai.ru

Abstract

The article considers the problem of the composite linerless Type V pressure vessel design intended for the aerospace applications. This study relevance stems from the need to reduce the weight reduction the onboard systems for storing working fluids while ensuring the required strength, leak tightness, and a safe failure mode of the structure. The type V vessels, which incorporate neither metallic nor polymeric liners, represent the most advanced class of pressure vessels, enabling maximum weight efficiency. However, their design involves a number of scientific and technical challenges related to the leak tightness ensuring of the composite wall and failure mechanisms predicting.
The authors accomplished preliminary computing of the vessel, within which framework they determined geometric parameters of the shell, meridional profile of the bottom, winding zones parameters and reinforcing characteristics. The integral relationships for the profile geometry description were numerically realized, which allowed forming the structure computational model. The requirements to the shell strength balance ensuring in both longitudinal and circumferential direction, as well as technological limitations imposed by the windingn process were being accounted for while the reinforcing scheme defining.
To verify the obtained analytical results, a finite element simulation of the stress–strain state of the vessel was performed with the Simcenter 3D software package. It was found that in the regular zone of the shell, the stress level complied the values obtained at the design computation stage and did not exceed the allowable limits. This confirms the adopted design assumptions correctness and applicability of the analytical approach for determining the main load-bearing parameters of the structure.
Numerical simulation revealed herewith local stress concentrators in the fade-out zones of the fiber placement trajectories, which were not fully accounted for by the analytical procedure. The said concentrators are stipulated by the geometric specifics of the transition from the cylindrical section to the dome and the curvature changes of the reinforcing fiber paths in these regions. It is demonstrated that the effect of these concentrators is not critical at the operating pressure, and any potential failure upon overpressure is of the localized nature, corresponding to a safe failure mechanism with controlled pressure release. Such failure mode is of fundamental importance for the aerospace applications, as it precludes catastrophic rupture of the vessel. The obtained results confirm applicability of the proposed calculation approach for the preliminary design of composite linerless Type V pressure vessels and may be applied in the development of the advanced working fluid storage systems for aerospace applications.

Keywords:

composite pressure vessel, linerless tank, type V vessel, compressed gases storage

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