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ReviewofCompositeToroidal

Pressure Vessel Research Design


PressureVesselResearch,Design
andDevelopmentforOnBoardCNG
andHydrogenStorage
Calum Fowler RMITUniversity
CalumFowler
RMIT University
Melbourne,Australia

Supervisors:
Prof.ChunWang Primarysupervisor RMITUniversity
Dr. AdrianOrifici
Adrian Orifici Associatesupervisor
Associate supervisor RMITUniversity
RMIT University
Dr. StephenDaynes Associatesupervisor RMITUniversity
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PersonalBackground
Graduated from Deakin University, Geelong in 2012
with Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical)
Completed final year project on Clamp load loss of
composite
i bolted
b l d joints
j i in
i conjunction
j
i with
i h Carbon
C b
Revolution
Completed
C
l t d Defence
D f
E i
Engineering
i Internship
I t
hi Program
P
with CRCACS over summer of 2012/ 2013
Worked on Robust
Robust Composite Repairs
Repairs project

Began PhD at RMIT in September 2013


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ProjectOverview
PhDProject
SponsoredbyAutoCRC 2020
Gaseous Fuels: to address both technological and social
barriers to the uptake of gaseous fuels in cars and trucks
trucks
Toroidal vessels for gaseous fuel storage previously studied
in AutoCRC Visionary Project (RMIT contributions)

BeguninSeptember2013
Aim:
To optimise the design of filament wound carbon fibre composite
toroidal vessels for highpressure CNG and hydrogen storage for
g
vehicular usage
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AimsofthisPresentation
1. Briefly review the current stateoftheart in
regards
d to
t onboard
b d storage
t
off CNG and
d hydrogen
h d
using composite pressure vessels (CPVs)
2. Review recent research on the design, optimisation
and analysis of toroidal CPVs
3 Identify gaps in the literature and avenues for
3.
further research and development of toroidal CPV
design
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CompressedNaturalGas(CNG)
p
(
)
There is approximately 180 years of supply of natural gas in
Australia
Natural gas releases significantly less CO2 per kilometre of
travel during combustion than oilbased fuels
Naturall gas is a renewable
bl fuel
f l source in the
h form
f
off
biogas/biomethane (as opposed to gasoline/diesel which have
finite supplies
pp
on earth))
Potentially safer than oilbased fuels in leakage events as it
dissipates into the air due to low vapour density
Several nations (India, Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, etc.)
already utilise CNG as a vehicle fuel
Yeh,S.,EnergyPolicy,Vol.35,pp.58655875,2007

GaseousFuelsProgramOverview,Accessed,31/03/2014
http://www.autocrc.com/activities/research/gaseousfuelsprogram,AutoCRC

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CNGandHydrogenGas
y g
Both have low volumetric energy densities (J/m3)
Stored in internally pressurised vessels

Current CNG vessel standards allow up


p to 20 MPa
(200 bars) of internal pressure
y g vessels are able to store ggas at up
p to 3540
Hydrogen
MPa (350400 bars)
Cylindrical and spherical vessels are traditional
options due to constant/nearconstant curvature
Zheng etal,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,37(1),pp.10481057,2012
ISO11439:2013:Gascylinders Highpressurecylindersforonboardstorageonnaturalgasasafuelforautomotivevehicles,2013

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LimitationstoNaturalGasVehicle(NGV)Uptake
Storage tanks difficult to integrate into vehicles
Engine performance can be sub
suboptimal
optimal (especially for
conventional retrofits
Storage
g tank operating
p
gp
pressures and internal volumes
are too low
Limited driving ranges

Little current infrastructure


Slow, inconvenient refuelling
Figure 1:
Composite H2 storage tank used in a
hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (Liu et al.,
al 2012)
Flynn,EnergyPolicy,vol.30,pp.613619,2002
http://www.autocrc.com/activities/research/gaseousfuelsprogram,AutoCRC GaseousFuelsProgramOverview,Accessed,31/03/2014

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CurrentStorageTankTechnology
g
gy
Primarily cylindrical vessels
Traditional options are fully metallic (Type I)
New technologies (composites) offer lightweight and more
efficient designs (Type II, III & IV)

Type I
TypeI

Type III
TypeIII

Figure2:
Four types of cylindrical
pressure vessel outlined
in ISO 11439:2013

TypeII

TypeIV

ISO11439:2013:Gascylinders Highpressurecylindersforonboardstorageonnaturalgasasafuelforautomotivevehicles,2013

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CylindricalPressureVessels
y
Disadvantages:
Structural weaknesses due to use of endcaps
(changes of curvature; differing wall thicknesses)
Limited
Li i d to circular
i l crosssections
i
Deviations require additional wall thicknesses and
associated weight penalties

Can be volumetrically inefficient in certain


situations
Nozzles/valves protrude from cylinder ends
Whiteetal.,AutoCRC VisionaryProjectC224:VolumeEfficientHighPressureStorageVessel InternalAutoCRC Report,2012

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ToroidalTankExamplesinIndustry
p
y
(a)

(c)

(b)

(d)

Figure3:
(a) Thiokol toroidal tank liner
fabrication
(b) Thiokol
Thi k l Complete
C
l t toroidal
t id l
vessel (created by hand)
(c) San Diego Composites FW
toroidal vessel (automated
manufacture)
(d) San Diego Composites RTM
mold and accompanying
toroidal vessel

http://www.sdcomposites.com/Products/p_product1.html,SanDiegoCompositesWebsite Pressurant andPropellantTanksProduct


Overview,Accessed31/03/2014
Delay&Roberts,ToroidalTankDevelopmentforUpperStages,in5th ConferenceonAerospaceMaterials,ProcessesandEnvironmental
Technology,2003

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ToroidalTheory
An axisymmetric shell of revolution formed by
rotatingg a 2D shape
p 360 degrees
g
about a central axis
(no intersection at axis)
A donut structure
A bent, endless cylinder
g
Advantages:

Figure4:
Fixed centre of mass
Atoroidalstructurewithcircular
crosssection(Li&Cook,2002)
No endcaps
Able to protect valve/nozzle/pressure regulator
Potential to innovate design (circular crosssection,
uniform
if
thi k
thickness
are nott optimal)
ti l)
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(a)

R/r=1.25

R/r=2.5

R/r=5

Figure 5:
(a) Toroids of various aspect ratio
(R/r), and (b) geometrical parameters
of a toroidal shell including major/
circumferential radius ((R)) and minor//
crosssectional radius (r)

(b)

R
Vu, StructuralandMultidisciplinaryOptimization,vol.42(3),pp.351369,2010

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Hoop Stress Variation


HoopStressVariation
Lowerstressregions

Figure 6:
Non uniform distribution of meridional
Nonuniform
/hoop stress (MPa) for a toroidal
vessel with a circular crosssection
(White et al.)

Maximumhoopstress
Whiteetal.,AutoCRC VisionaryProjectC224:VolumeEfficientHighPressureStorageVessel(Internalreport),2012

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Figure 7:
Hoop stress distribution for various
toroidal aspect ratios around circular
cross section

Vu, StructuralandMultidisciplinaryOptimization,vol.42(3),pp.351369,2010

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Blachut,2005
Concluded
l d d that
h wallll thickness
h k
variation was required
d
to provide uniform stress distribution
Figure8:
Sideon view of metallic toroidal
shells before and after internal
p
pressurisation

Vu&Blachut,2009
Burst failure occurred at inner periphery for all
specimens (location of maximum hoop stress)
Figure 9:
Figure9:
(a) Shape of metallic toroidal shell
after burst and (b) burst failure
location of the toroidal shell
Blachut,JournalofPressureVesselTechnology TransactionsoftheASME,vol.127(2),pp.151156,2005
Vu&Blachut,JournalofPressureVesselTechnology TransactionsoftheASME,vol.131(5),p.051203,2009

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T id l Fil
ToroidalFilamentWinding
t Wi di
( )
(a)

(b)

Figure 10:
(a) Overhead view of a FW toroidal vessel with some geometrical and winding parameters, and (b)
layout of a toroidal filamentwinder with an associated coordinate system

Zu,Zhang,Xu &Xiao,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,vol.37(1),pp.10271036,2012

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OptimisationofCrossSectional
Optimisation
of Cross Sectional
Geometry

Figure11:

Figure12:

Toroidal crosssections investigated by


Steele, 1965

Isotensoid crosssections for


increasing volume outlined
by Zu et al., 2010

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Steele,1965

C
Considered
id d volumetric
l
t i and
d mass efficiencies
ffi i i
off circular
i l
and
d
elliptically crosssectioned toroidal PVs
Deviations from circular crosssections caused large decreases in
structural performance
Concluded, for practical purposes, circular crosssections produced
lowest mass for constant and variable wall thicknesses

Vu,2010
Used Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimisation
methods to design isotropic toroidal pressure vessels of minimum
weight
Concluded elliptical profiles resulted in most material saving,
saving but
Circular crosssections with thickness variation were the best
balance between material saving and manufacturability
Steele,JournalofSpacecraftandRockets,vol.2(6),pp.937943,1965
Vu, StructuralandMultidisciplinaryOptimization,vol.42(3),pp.351369,2010

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Zu et al., various dates


Zuetal.,variousdates
The majority of recent studies into optimal cross
sectional
ti
l geometry
t and
d thickness
thi k
off filamentwound
fil
t
d
toroidal pressure vessels have involved Lei Zu:
Zu, Koussios & Beukers, Application
Application of isotensoid
isotensoidbased
based cross sections to
filamentwound toroidal pressure vessels, in 17th International
Conference of Composite Materials (ICCM17), Edinburgh, UK, 2009
Zu, Koussios & Beukers, Optimal
p
cross sections of filamentwound
toroidal hydrogen storage vessels based on continuum lamination theory,
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 35(19), pp. 1041910429,
2010
Zu, Koussios & Beukers, A novel design solution for improving the
performance of composite toroidal hydrogen storage tanks, International
Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 37(19), pp. 1434314350, 2012
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Zuetal.,2010
Optimal toroidal FWPVs had lower and wider profiles than
circular toroidal FWPVs of equal volume
Figure 13:
(a) Optimal and circular profiles of
toroids of equal volume,
volume and (b)
performance comparison of circular
and optimal toroidal and cylindrical
PVs

Optimal toroids became circular at small internal volumes


As internal volume increased, the optimal toroidal profile became
more noncircular

Optimal toroids were lighter than circular equivalents at any


equal volume
Zu,Koussios &Beukers,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,vol.35(19),pp.1041910429,2012

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Zu et al., 2012
Zuetal.,2012
Optimal toroids produced lower stresses than geodesic
equivalents
Due to winding angle decrease, not the change in crosssectional
shape
Fi
Figure
14
14:
Sectional views of (a) a circularshaped toroidal vessel, and (b) an isotensoidal, nongeodesically
wound toroidal vessel obtained by Zu et al. (min = 0.2, = 0.04), where is the friction coefficient
between the nongeodesic fibres and he mandrel surface

(a)

(b)

Zu,Koussios &Beukers,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,vol.37(19),pp.1434314350,2012

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OptimisationofWallThicknessand
Optimisation
of Wall Thickness and
theNaturalThickeningEffect

Figure 15:
Figure15:
Various wall thickness variations and crosssectional shapes of isotropic
toroidal PVs investigated by Vu, 2010

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White et al. (AutoCRC), 2012


Whiteetal.(AutoCRC),2012
Performed thickness optimisation study on an
80 litre
lit toroidal
t id l tank
t k using
i FEA and
d Matthecks
M tth k
Logic
Approximately 50% weight saving predicted
(a)

(b)

Figure16:
(a) Uniform thickness and (b)
thickness variation after 40th
iteration using Matthecks Logic

Whiteetal.,AutoCRC VisionaryProjectC224:VolumeEfficientHighPressureStorageVessel(Internalreport),2012

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White et al (AutoCRC) 2012


Whiteetal.(AutoCRC),2012

Figure 17:
Comparison of hoop stress distribution
between 80 litre toroidal FW tanks of
uniform thickness and natural thickening
optimisations performed by White et al.

Meridio
onalStress[M
MPa]

The study then considered identical toroidal FW tanks that


had experienced natural thickening

Degreesaroundthetoroidalmeridian[]
(0atuppercrest,clockwisedirection)

The naturally thickened toroidal vessel was found to be 27%


lighter
g
compared
p
to one of uniform thickness
Whiteetal.,AutoCRC VisionaryProjectC224:VolumeEfficientHighPressureStorageVessel(Internalreport),2012

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Cook Chambers & Richards 1998


Cook,Chambers&Richards,1998
Figure18:
(a) A comparison of equal volume cylindrical and toroidal vessels worn on a persons back and (b)
diagram of the toroidal breathing apparatus showing the natural thickening variation in the crosssection

Maximumthickness

Minimumthickness

Natural thickness buildup almost exactly accounted for hoop


stress variation for the given example
No ggeometrical dimensions or toroidal aspect
p ratio ggiven
Cooketal.,in19th InternationalSAMPE EuropeConference,pp.125138,1998

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OptimisationofToroidalWinding
p
g
Angles([/]n)

Figure19:

Figure20:

Nongeodesic winding pattern after 40 rotations of


mandrel using single helical winding (Zu et al., 2007)

Model depicting the geodesic helical winding of a


toroidal vessel (White et al, 2012)

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Zuetal,variousdates

Like toroidal geometry, the majority of recent studies into winding angle
optimisation of toroidal FWPVs has involved Lei Zu:

ZZu, He
H and
d Ni,
Ni Pattern
P tt
d i
design
f nongeodesic
for
d i winding
i di
t id l pressure vessels,
toroidal
l in
i 16th
International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM16), Kyoto, Japan, 2007
Zu, Koussios and Beukers, Pattern design and optimization for filamentwound toroidal pressure
vessels, in 23rd Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites, Memphis, TN, USA,
2008
Zu, Koussios and Beukers, Design of filamentwound circular toroidal hydrogen storage vessels
based on nongeodesic fiber trajectories, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol 35(2), pp.
660670, 2010
Zu,, Koussios and Beukers,, Minimum weight
g design
g of helicallyy and hoop
p wound toroidal hydrogen
y g
storage tanks with variable slippage coefficients, Polymer Composites, vol. 33(12), pp. 22182227,
2012
Zu, Koussios and Beukers, A novel design solution for improving the performance of composite
toroidal hydrogen storage tanks, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 37(19), pp. 14343
14350 2012
14350,
Zu, Zhang, Xu and Xiao, Integral design and simulation of composite toroidal hydrogen storage
tanks, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol 37(1), pp. 10271036, 2012
Zu, Stability of fiber trajectories for winding toroidal pressure vessels, Composite Structures, vol.
94(5) pp.
94(5),
pp 18551860,
1855 1860 2012

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Zuetal.,2008
Created an optimisation algorithm to determine optimal
winding paths and thickness distributions of circular helical
andhoop wound toroidal PVs
To obtain minimum weight while satisfying strength, nonslippage and
nonbridging criteria

Toroidal PV example:
R/r = 4.0
((allowable slippage
pp g coefficient)) = 0.3
pburst (burst pressure)
= 70 Mpa
Xf (filament tensile strength)
= 4.9 Gpa

Optimal average thickness: 1.8 mm


Optimal average winding angle: 50.83

Figure21:
Comparison of geodesic and optimal
nongeodesic winding trajectories on
toroidal mandrel

Zu,Koussios andBeukers,in23rd TechnicalConferenceoftheAmericanSocietyforComposites,Memphis,TN,USA,2008

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Zuetal.,2010
Extended
d d previous workk to include
l d continuum theory
h
Netting theory used in previous study

Nongeodesic trajectories centralised in a range of


5056
Only aspect ratios of 3 < R/r < 6 were studied

Zuetal.,2012
U
Used
d variable
i bl slippage
li
coefficients
ffi i t to
t create
t optimal
ti l
nongeodesic minimum weight toroidal vessels
Optimal trajectories varied from 51.48
51 48 at outer
periphery to 55.12 at inner periphery
Zu,Koussios &Beukers,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,vol.35(2),pp.660670,2010
Zu,Koussios &Beukers,PolymerComposites,vol.33(12),pp.22182227,2012

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Zuetal.,2012
Determined
d optimall crosssectionall shapes
h
off non
geodesically wound, isotensoid toroidal PVs
Eye
E shaped
h
d toroid
t id resulted
lt d in
i winding
i di trajectories
t j t i
varying from 5 at outer periphery to approximately
50 at inner periphery
50

Zu,2012
Evaluated fibre trajectory stability of toroidal FWPVs for single
helical and helicalandhoop winding methods
Toroidal FWPVs with aspect ratios less than 3 should avoid
nettingbased nongeodesic winding
Should employ geodesic or semigeodesic winding
Zu,Koussios &Beukers,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,vol.37(19),pp.1434314350,2012
Zu,CompositeStructures,vol.94(5),pp.18551860,2012

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Zuetal.,2012
(c)

(a)
Single
g
Helical
Winding

Figure 22:
Optimal
p
ggeodesic trajectories
j
after 300
wound circuits of mandrel for:
(a) single helical winding, and
(b) symmetrically helical winding, and
p
nongeodesic
g
trajectories
j
Optimal
after 160 wound circuits of mandrel
for:
(c) single helical winding, and
(d) symmetrically helical winding

(b)

Single
g
Helical
Winding

(d)
Symmetrical
Helical
Winding

Symmetrical
Helical
Winding

Geodesics

Nongeodesics

Zuetal.,InternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergy,vol.37(1),pp.10271036,2012

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ConclusionsdrawnfromLiterature
Majority of studies into toroidal FWPVs have been
purelyy numerical/theoretical
p
/
Dedicated toroidal winding machinery is highly desirable
Experimental validation required

Uniform wall stress in toroidal FWPVs can be


achieved by:

Isotensoid crosssections
W ll thickness
Wall
hi k
variations
i i
Optimal geodesic, semi or nongeodesic winding patterns
Combinations of the above
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ConclusionsdrawnfromLiterature
Circular crosssections with wall thickness variations
seem to be the best tradeoff
trade off between light
light
weighting and manufacturability compared to
elliptical/isotensoid
p
/
crosssections
White et al. suggested further studies to determine if there
is an optimal toroidal aspect ratio (R/r) where natural
thickening
hi k i
tends
d towards
d geometry off unconstrained
i d
thickness optimisations

Utilising natural thickening would potentially simplify


the toroidal FWPV design
g and manufacturingg p
process
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ConclusionsdrawnfromLiterature
Smaller aspect ratios (1 < R/r < 3) than those studied
by Zu et al. should be utilised to maximise volumetric
potential of toroids
Winding pattern optimisation is still needed for such ratios

All studies
t di relating
l ti
t toroidal
to
t id l FWPVs
FWPV have
h
only
l
considered flawless and pristine vessels
Influence of discontinuities/flaws (such as nozzle
placement or impact damage) on design are required

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ResearchQuestions
1. Are optimal winding angles ([/]n) of toroidal
FWPVs affected by the presence of holes and/or
impact damage?

Static
St
ti loading?
l di ?
Fatigue loading?

2. Is there an optimal toroidal aspect ratio (R/r) where


natural wall thickening tends towards the geometry
of unconstrained thickness optimisations?

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Thank you
Thankyou

Li&Cook,JournalofPressureVesselTechnology
TransactionsoftheASME,vol.124(2),pp.215222,2002

IwouldliketothankAutoCRC,RMITUniversityandmysupervisorsfortheirongoingsupport
of my PhD project and studies
ofmyPhDprojectandstudies.
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