DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPOSITE PRESSURE VESSEL FOR HIGH

PRESSURE APPLICATIONS
Fikret ŞENEL 1, Levend PARNAS 2

KEYWORDS

Composite Pressure Vessel, Metal Liner, Filament Winding

ABSTRACT
In this paper, design study of a composite pressure vessel (PV) that can bear high internal
pressures (120 MPa) is presented. Numerical analysis is carried out by Nastran.
The developed PV is made of a metallic liner and a composite reinforcement. The liner is
stainless steel and the composite is produced by filament winding of S2-Glass fibers with an
epoxy resin system onto the liner.
The liner is modeled via 2-D shell (plate) elements with isotropic material properties. The
composite structure, however, is assumed to be 2D orthotropic and it is modeled with
laminate elements having specified material angles for each layer separately.
Coupon specimens of metallic liner are tensile tested. Composite data are taken from a
previous study [1].
Design is carried out by making numerical analysis of various configurations. Specimens are
manufactured and tested in order to verify numerical results. After finalizing the design,
stresses on both composite layers and the liner in hoop and longitudinal directions are
determined numerically for three loading cases, namely operating pressure (40 MPa), proof
pressure (60 MPa) and design burst pressure (120 MPa). Moreover, the failure under design
burst pressure is also investigated.
Finally, specimens are produced in accordance with final configuration and a series of test
have been performed on these prototypes which have met all the requirements successfully.

1. INTRODUCTION
Composite pressure vessels (PV) with metal liner have been used in high-pressure
applications since 1970s [2]. Composite PVs supersede all-metal ones as they offer weight
saving, safety, low cost and a wider operating temperature range.
In general, PVs are classified in three types according to the magnitude of the internal
pressure loading: low, medium and high-pressure applications. For high-pressure applications,
the loading is above 20 MPa (200 bars). Coolant tanks, oxygen tubes, compressed natural gas
(CNG) tanks and fire extinguishers are some examples to important applications in this class.

1
Barış Elektrik Endüstrisi A.Ş., P.K. 709, 06044, Akyurt, Ankara, Turkey, Tel.+90-312-3980228,
fikret.senel@bariselektrik.com.tr
2
Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Makine Müh. Böl, 06531, Ankara, Turkey, parnas@metu.edu.tr
When high pressures are applied, matrix cracks in the composite structure are created during
both production and service. Therefore, an internal layer so called liner is used mainly to
prevent leakage of contained gas through the matrix cracks. Metallic liners, made of
aluminum or stainless steel, are preferred over elastomeric liners in high-pressure
applications. These liners are manufactured by using some of the following methods in
combination: spinning, deep drawing, extrusion, welding and mechanical machining (for end
caps). If welding is applied, all liners are essentially checked by an appropriate NDI (non-
destructive inspection) such as X-ray inspection.
Filament winding has been applied for composite PV manufacturing extensively and
generally numerical or analytical results were verified experimentally [3-9]. Kabir studied
composite PVs with a load sharing metallic liner [3]. Kabir numerically found that the
metallic liner improves the strength remarkably. Kim et al. analyzed composite tubes used for
CNG storage [4]. They developed a software program based on the laminated plate theory and
used a FEA tool in the design of a composite PV with a HDPE liner incorporated with a metal
end nozzle. The numerical results were verified experimentally. Filament wound PVs with
metallic liner for high-pressure applications were also studied by Lal who presented both
numerical and experimental results and claimed to predict weak points in the designed
structure [5]. Tummala et al. conducted a study on the optimum design of a storage tank for
hydrogen [6]. Lifshitz and Dayan introduced a method for calculating stresses and strains in
composite PVs with a thick metallic liner [7].
Most important findings were composite PVs with metallic liner are superior to metal vessels
and the efficiency can be improved by changing the ratio between hoop and helical layers.
Another method to design laminated composite PVs is proposed by Krikanov [8]. Krikanov
also proposed to apply hybrid fiber winding in order to meet stiffness and strength
requirements such that if axial strain of the vessel is restricted, the hoop layer should be
transformed in the helical layer; if hoop strain is restricted, the fiber used for hoop layer must
be changed to one with higher stiffness. Wild and Vickers presented an analytical method for
the analysis of filament wound cylindrical tubes [9]. They found that the benefit obtained
from the variation of winding angles for graphite-epoxy tubes is 5-10% for the last ply failure
and 1% for the first ply failure.
In this research, a composite PV with metallic liner was developed for high internal pressure
applications. The liner, which is made of 304 L stainless steel, is manufactured by TIG-
welding of mechanically machined end caps to the middle part, which is a cylindrical tube.
Onto the liner used also as the mandrel, S2-Glass fiber with an epoxy resin system was
filament wound by a helical winder with 3-axis control. Geodesic winding, in which fibers are
followed the shortest path along the curvature of mandrel, was applied in order to avoid the
slippage of wet fibers. No internal pressure was applied during curing but specimens that are
proof tested showed no delamination at the interface between metallic liner and the composite
layers, which was determined by a destructive inspection.
The composite material data is obtained from the experimental work carried in Ref. [1]
The results showed that changing the ratio of hoop layers to helical layers, it is possible to
improve the performance of filament wound PVs.
2. GENERALIZED HOOKE’S LAW
Engineering materials can be considered to have small deformations for many circumstances.
This can be extended by assuming that there is no permanent deformation, i.e., perfectly
elastic material assumption is made. If linear elastic material is considered then the
relationship between stress and strain is expressed in tensor notation as follow:
σ ij = Cijkl εkl for i, j, k, l = 1,2,3 (1)
where Cijkl are elastic constants or stiffness coefficients. This equation is known as the
Generalized Hooke’s Law, which states that the relationship between all six components of
strain and stress is linear.
Stress and strain tensors are symmetrical meaning:
Cijkl = Cjikl and Cijkl = Cijlk (2)
Rearranging the generalized Hooke’s law by using symmetry conditions given above yields
the following:
σ i = Cij εj for i, j = 1,2,..,6 (3)
where
σ 1 = σ 11 ε 1 = ε 11 (4)
σ 2 = σ 22 ε 2 = ε 22
σ 3 = σ 33 ε 3 = ε 33
σ 4 = σ 23 ε 4 = 2 ε 23 = γ23
σ 5 = σ 31 ε 5 = 2 ε 31 = γ31
σ 6 = σ 12 ε 6 = 2 ε 12 = γ12
By definition of the strain energy density function, it can be shown that the stiffness matrix is
symmetric. Therefore, the number of independent constants can be reduced by using this
symmetry condition, which is:
Cij = Cji for i, j = 1,2,..,6 (5)
In the above equation, we have 21 independent constants out of 36. Because of symmetry, the
number of independent constants is reduced to 21 from 36.
The inverse of Equation (3) gives:
εj = Sij σ i for i, j = 1,2,..,6 (6)
where Sij is known as compliance coefficients and compliance matrix is also symmetric.
Material Symmetry
Materials having material symmetry have less number of elastic constants. It also applies to
compliance constants. An anisotropic material which has no material symmetry has 21
independent constants.
A material having material symmetry about one plane is called monoclinic material. For
monoclinic materials, there are 13 independent constants.
If we have material symmetry about two planes that are perpendicular to each other, then the
number of independent elastic constants is reduced to nine. Such a material has additional
symmetry plane that are mutually perpendicular to each other. This material is called an
orthotropic material. Thin filament wound cylindrical tubes are considered to be orthotropic
and for such a material, generalized Hooke’s law can be re-written as:
  σ 1  C11 C12 C13 0 0 0   ε1 
σ   C 22 C 23 0 0 0   ε 2 
 2 
σ 3   C33 0 0 0   ε 3 
 =     (7)
τ
  
23 C 44 0 0 γ
   23
τ 13   C55 0  γ 13 
     
τ 12   C66  γ 12 
For an isotropic material having the same material properties in every direction like metals,
the stiffness terms become:
C11 = C22
C12 = C23
C66 = (C22 – C23) / 2 = (C11 – C12) / 2 (8)
For an isotropic material, there are two independent constants and the stiffness matrix is:
C11 C12 0 0 0 0 
 C11 C12 0 0 0 
 
 C11 0 0 0 
 C11 − C12 
[ ]
C = 
2
0 0  (9)
 
 C11 − C12 
0
 2 
 C11 − C12 
 
 2 
Engineering Constants
Generalized Hooke’s law gives the strain and stress relationship but it is necessary to find all
constants to solve these equations. In a laboratory, some constants can be determined and
these constants are called engineering constants. The engineering constants are Poison’s ratio
(ν), Elastic modulus (E) and shear modulus (G). Poison’s ratio is defined as:
−ε j
νij = for σi ≠ 0, i ≠ j and i, j = 1,2,3 (10)
εi
For an anisotropic material,
Ei for i = 1,2,..,6 (11)
represents Elastic and Shear moduli. The first three are elastic moduli in three coordinates one
of which is axial modulus and the others are transverse moduli. The last three are Shear
moduli, Gij which are defined for shear stress in the i-j plane and following equations are
valid as it is symmetric:
Gij = G ji for i ≠ j and i, j = 1,2,3 (12)
Compliance coefficients can be expressed in terms of related engineering constants by
superposition of strains due to each component of stress in principal material direction. For
example, let us consider a unidirectional lamina under only tensile stress in the direction of
fiber. Following equations are obtained:
ε 1 = σ 1 / E1 (13)
ε 2 = -ν12 ε 1 = -ν12 . σ 1 / E1
ε 3 = -ν13 ε 1 = -ν13 . σ 1 / E1
ε4 = ε5 = ε6 = 0
Now consider again the same tensile loading but direction of stress is perpendicular to fiber
direction this time. The following equations can be derived:
ε 2 = σ 2 / E2 (14)
ε 1 = -ν21 ε 2 = -ν21. σ 2 / E2
ε 3 = -ν23 ε 2 = -ν23 . σ 2 / E2
ε4 = ε5 = ε6 = 0
Similarly, the following equations are obtained for tensile stress in third direction that is
outward normal to the surface of lamina:
ε 3 = σ 3 / E3 (15)
ε 1 = -ν31 ε 3 = -ν31. σ 3 / E3
ε 2 = -ν32 ε 3 = -ν32 . σ 3 / E3
ε4 = ε5 = ε6 = 0
Superposition of above equations for three tensile loading cases yield following:
ε 1 = σ 1 /E1 - ν21. σ 2 /E2 - ν31. σ 3 /E3 (16)
ε 2 = - ν12 . σ 1 /E1 + σ 2 /E2 - ν32 . σ 3 /E3 (17)
ε 3 = - ν13 . σ 1 /E1 - ν23. σ 2 /E2 + σ 3 /E3 (18)
For simple shear stress loadings on plane 2-3, plane 1-3 and plane 1-2, we can get following
equations for shear strain in terms of shearing modulus and shear stress:
τ 23
γ 23 = (19)
G23
τ 13
γ 13 = (20)
G13
τ 12
γ 12 = (21)
G12
Finally, with the above equations we can re-write the compliance matrix for an orthotropic
material under three-dimensional stress as follows:
  1 − ν 21 − ν 31 
 E 0 0 0 
E2 E3
 1 
 − ν 12 1 − ν 32
0 0 0 
 E1 E2 E3 
 −ν −ν 23 1 
 13 0 0 0 
E E2 E3
Sij =  1  (22)
 1 
 0 0 0 0 0 
 G23 
 0 1
0 0 0 0 
 G13 
 1 
 0 0 0 0 0 
 G12 
Then, it is possible to define elastic moduli and shear moduli in terms of compliance
coefficients and this is given below:
E1 = 1 / S11 (23)
E2 = 1 / S22
E3 = 1 / S33
E4 = G23 = 1 / S44
E5 = G13 = 1 / S55
E6 = G12 = 1 / S66
Definition of Poison’s ratio for an anisotropic material is as follow:
ν21 = -S12 / S11 for larger Poison’s ratio (24)
and assuming that
E1 > E2
ν12 = ν21 E2 / E1 = -S12 / S22 for smaller Poison’s ratio (25).
For an orthotropic material, the compliance matrix can be written in terms of engineering
constants by using above definitions and equation (7) takes following form:
 1 − ν 21 − ν 31 
 E 0 0 0 
E2 E3
 1 
 − ν 12 1 − ν 32
 ε1   0 0 0   σ1

 ε   E1 E2 E3
 σ 
 2   −ν 13 −ν 23 1
0 0 0   2
 ε 3   E1 E2 E3  σ 3 
 =     (26)
γ 23   0 τ 23 
1
0 0 0 0 
γ 13   G23  τ 13 
   1  
γ 12  0 0 0 0 0  τ 12 
 G13 
 1 
 0 0 0 0 0 
 G12 
3. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
The followings are the requirements of the pressure vessel developed in this study:
• Maximum Weight : 4.5 kg
• Minimum Capacity : 2.0 lt.
• Permanent Volumetric Expansion : 5%, maximum
• Outside Diameter : 80.0 + 1.0 / - 1.2 mm
• Operating Pressure : 40 MPa
• Proof Pressure : 80 MPa
• Design Burst Pressure : 120 MPa
Strength analysis of the pressure vessel is based on the design burst pressure, which is
determined by multiplying operating pressure with the burst pressure factor. The burst
pressure factor is 3.0 according to MIL-STD-1522.
4. MATERIALS
Composite
The properties of S2-Glass fiber and the resin system are given in Table 1.
Table 1. Properties of Composite Material
Description Fiber Data Resin Data
Name S2 Glass Epoxy
Density 2.46 g/cm3 1.1-1.2 g/cm3
Tensile Strength 3100 MPa 80-90 MPa
Modulus of Elasticity 86.81 GPa 3.2-3.6 GPa
Elongation 5.4 % 4.7 %
Liner
Stainless steel of 304 L (Table 2) is selected as liner material owing to its superior mechanical
properties [10]. Furthermore, this material is suitable for high pressure applications [11].
Indeed, this steel has low carbon content (max. 0.03%) and its welding has better fatigue
behavior. The properties of 304L are as follows:
• Austenitic Cr-Ni Stainless Steel,
• Good corrosion resistance,
• High ductility,
• Excellent spinning properties,
• Less carbide precipitation during welding.
Table 2. Strength Data of 304 L Stainless Steel
Ultimate Tensile Strength 564 MPa (no cold work)
Yield Stress 210 MPa (no cold work)
Modulus of Elasticity 193-200 GPa
Elongation at Break 58 %

5. SPECIMEN MANUFACTURING
Liner Assembly
The liner has three parts namely middle part and end caps. All the parts are made of 304 L
stainless steel. The middle cylindrical portion of liner is seamless tube. End caps are
manufactured from solid circular rod by machining and caps are TIG-welded to the middle
part. An apparatus (Figure 1) is designed to prevent misalignments during and after welding.
All welded parts are radiographically tested by X-ray in accordance with specifications
EN1435 and ASME Section VIII.

Figure 1. Welding Apparatus

Filament Winding onto Metallic Liner
In this study, test specimens are produced by a CNC winding machine with 3-axis control.
The composite layers are produced with two different winding angles. Inner layers are helical
layers with 45° winding angle. The outer layers are circumferentially wound. During winding,
a constant fiber tension is applied. The geodesic winding, which is performed by following
the shortest path on the curved cap surface, applied on ends in order to prevent slippage
during winding as much as possible. Curing after winding is carried out in an oven specially
designed for filament winding. The curing cycle is applied according to recommendations of
the resin manufacturer. During curing, the wound structure is continuously rotated at a low
speed inside the oven. Even temperature distribution inside the oven is maintained by air
circulation.
6. MATERIAL TESTS

Coupon Tests of Liner

Liner coupon samples are manufactured from liner by using EDM. The dimensions are given
in Figure 3. The stress-strain curve obtained from a tensile test is given in Figure 2. The
modulus of elasticity, which is 165 MPa, is slightly less than the value available in literature
[10]. The ultimate tensile strength value obtained is approximately 600 MPa.
Strength of TIG-Welding in Transverse Direction
The tensile tests on coupons (see Figure 3) are performed in accordance with ANSI/AWS
B4.0-92, the specification by American Welding Society [12]. In the tests, the mechanical
strength of the weld in transverse direction is determined in order to find out the effect of
welding on the overall strength of liner.
 50 E=165.3 GPa

Stress (kg/mm2) 40

30

20

10

0
0.00E+00 5.00E-03 1.00E-02 1.50E-02 2.00E-02
Strain (mm/mm)

Figure 2. Stress-Strain Curve of Liner 304 L.

Ductile failures took place away from the welding zone and the strength of either type of
coupons is almost the same. The elongation is calculated to be more than 50%.

70 114.5 70
25

38
3.2
5

3.2
R2

35

Figure 3. Tensile Test Specimen for Liner with/without TIG-Welding

7. NUMERICAL RESULTS
Model
Six line segments are used for modeling of PV as given in Figure 4, and six surfaces of
revolution are created by using these line segments. Different laminate definitions are used for
these surfaces:
First surface which is created from line segment I has one thick isotropic layer and this part of
the model simulates thick part of the cab.
The non-cylindrical part is modeled as two layers. There are four different surfaces created
from line segments II-V and each part has the same isotropic inner layer in common and a
helical layer on this layer. Only difference is the material angle definitions for the helical
layers. The angle of winding on the cap is 45° near the cylindrical part and decreases down to
30°.
The cylindrical part has three layers: isotropic metal, helical and hoop layers. This cylindrical
part is created from line segment VI.
In the model, each helical layer is assumed to be combination of two sub layers having +/-
winding angles. Moreover, axi-symmetry is considered for efficient modeling.
 V VI
IV
III
II

Figure 4. Line Segments Used in FEA Model

Results of the Numerical Analysis
Some of the results obtained are tabulated in Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5.
The maximum stress variations calculated for the final design are listed in Table 3.
The analysis results for specimens produced with various configurations are given in Table 4.
The best performance is calculated for the specimens whose thickness ratio of hoop layers to
helical layers is 0.44.

Table 3 Stresses [MPa] Calculated for the Final Design

Liner Helical Layer Hoop Layer Near
(Cylindrical (Cylindrical (Cylindrical Welding
Part) Part) Part) Zone (Liner)
Hoop Direction 1067 176 42 725
Longitudinal Direction 400 85 110 725

The variation of maximum stress in liner is calculated and tabulated in Table 5 for various
wall thickness of pressure vessel. As the wall thickness increases, maximum stress decreases.
The change in the maximum stress is approximately 9% for a 35% increase in total wall
thickness of composite part while liner thickness is kept unchanged.

Table 4 Variation of Stresses [MPa] Calculated for Specimens

Thickness Ratio of Mean Stress in Mean Stress in Maximum Stress in
Composite Layer Hoop Layer Helical Layer Liner
0.08 80 126 1085
0.35 77 120 1074
0.44 74 114 1067

8. CONCLUSIONS
In this study, a composite pressure vessel that can bear an internal pressure of 120 MPa is
designed, specimens are manufactured and tested. The results of the performance tests
indicated that the prototypes produced in accordance with the design can carry the required
load successfully. Furthermore, the design met all the design constraints like weight, size,
capacity as well as strength requirements.
The preliminary study showed that an all-metal vessel cannot meet all the design criteria.
Moreover, a composite structure is preferred in order to avoid shrapnel effect during burst.
Additionally, a load-sharing metallic liner is used to prevent the leakage through matrix
cracks.
Burst pressures obtained by testing of prototypes produced in accordance with the final
configuration are between 170-185 MPa which is well above the design burst pressure.
Moreover, after the burst, no fragmentation obtained which is an indication of safe design.
It is possible to improve the performance of a filament wound PV by changing the ratio of
hoop layers to helical layers.
In liner, the most critical region is the conjunction between the ends of the cylindrical part and
the domes. Therefore, welding zone is shifted towards the sides. It is numerically found that
the stress near the welding zone is decreased about 30% for the specimens produced in this
study.

Table 5 Variation of Maximum Stress in Liner for Various Composite Thicknesses

Total Wall Thickness, Thickness Ratio of Maximum Stress in Liner,
[mm] Composite Layers [MPa]
7.95 0.5 1153
7.70 0.5 1160
7.20 0.5 1193
6.70 0.5 1229
6.20 0.5 1266

REFERENCES

[1] ARDIÇ, E.S and GEDİZ, A. (2000), "Tensile Behaviour of Filament Wound Tubes ",
Barış Elektrik Endüstrisi A.Ş., Ankara
[2] Shen, F.C. (1995), A Filament-Wound Structure Technology Overview, Elsevier
Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol.42, pp 96-100
[3] Kabir, M.Z. (2000), Finite Element Analysis of Composite Pressure Vessels with a Load
Sharing Metallic Liner, Elsevier Composite Structures, vol.49, pp 247-255
[4] Kim, B.S., Kim, B.H., Kim, J.B., and Joe, C.R. (1998), Study on the Development of
Composite CNG Pressure Vessels, Elsevier Cyrogenics, vol.38, pp 131-134
[5] Lal, K.M. (1992), Filament Wound Pressure Vessels – Effects of Using Liner Tooling of
Low Pressure Vessels for High Pressure Vessels Development, 37th International
SAMPE Symposium, pp 1253-1264
[6] Tummala, M., Krepec, T. and Ahmed, A.K.W. (1997), Optimization of Thermo
controlled Tank for Hydrogen Storage in Vehicles, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, vol.22, pp.
525-530
[7] Lifshitz, J.M., and Dayan, H. (1995), Filament-wound Pressure Vessel with Thick Metal
Liner, Elsevier Composite Structures, vol.32, pp. 313-323
[8] Krikanov, A.A. (2000), Composite Pressure Vessels with Higher Stiffness, Elsevier
Composite Structures, vol.48, pp.119-127
[9] Wild, P.M. and Vickers, P.M. (1996), Analysis of Filament-wound Cylindrical Shells
under Combined Centrifugal, Pressure and Axial Loading, Elsevier Composites, Part A,
vol.28A, pp.47-55
[10] Lampman, S. (1995), "Fatigue and Fracture Properties of Stainless Steels ", ASM
International, pp. 712-732
[11] ODTÜ Kaynak Teknolojisi Merkezi (1999), Paslanmaz Çeliklerin Kaynağı, Ankara
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Welds"

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The work presented here is a part of an R&D project made by Baris Elektrik Endüstrisi A.Ş.
and supported by SSM, MoD of Turkey. Authors thank to BARIŞ and SSM.

APPENDIX

Photographs of Bursted Prototypes:

NASTRAN Analysis :