Open Access

The developed fibre-break model from Mines-ParisTech requires an improvement in terms of calculation time for analysing real-scale model. By implementing the proposed method, the number of representative volume element and monte-carlo run can be optimised to obtain certain confidence level of the results. By reducing this level, faster computation can be done. This approach has given us a positive insight that it can be used for studying real-scale model of composite pressure vessels.

Hydrogen storage is a crucial part of the hydrogen value chain, particularly in terms of safety and social acceptance of hydrogen technologies. For on-board and transportation applications, hydrogen is commonly stored as a compressed gas in pressure vessels. Full composite wrapped Type 4 pressure vessels are especially beneficial due to their high weight-saving potential and their capability to withstand high working pressures. To maintain an appropriate safety level, the mechanical behavior of the composite structure has been the subject of investigation in numerous studies. In this study, the failure mechanisms of two designs of Type 4 cylinders are investigated. The two designs differ solely in the manufacturing process parameters, particularly the internal pressure applied during the filament winding process. Variations in internal pressure result in different residual stress states and changes in the quality of the composite structure. The stacking sequence, materials used, and other manufacturing parameters remain unchanged. The cylinders show different failure mechanisms in slow burst tests: one design fails in hoop windings, while the other one fails in helical windings, despite no stress exaggeration in the fiber direction being observed with embedded optical fibers or in numerical simulations. To explain the failure mechanisms, the quality of the cylinders is investigated. The results of X-ray computed tomography and pulse-echo investigation, highlight the complexity of the interactions between manufacturing process parameters, residual stresses, manufacturing quality, and the mechanical behavior of composite pressure vessels. Resin-rich areas in the composite material are identified as a possible cause of the differing failure mechanisms.

A reduced volume method has been used to evaluate the fibre break model to characterise the strength of unidirectional composite materials. This evaluation has led to an increase of computational speed. This study validated the prediction with the experimental result of NOL ring test.

It is pertinent to have a correct description of fibre strength described by the twp parameter Weibull distribution when evaluating a type Iv pressure vessel using the fibre break multiscale model developed at Mines ParisTech. Earlier studies have shown a positive comparison result when T600S fibre strength were used. This study has discovered what would be the effect on the predicted strength when T700S strength is used.

The fibre-break model developed at Mines ParisTech has been able to show the effect of pressurisation rate on pressure vessels. This simulation however had to use a smaller model, as the computation time becomes enormous for simulating a real-scale pressure vessel. Reduced volume method then has been studied on different model configuration. The study showed that the method can be used only on certain configurations. It also gives a positive insight to reduce the computation time.