DEVELOPMENT OF A MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR A CUBOIDAL PRESSURE VESSEL WITH TENSION STRUTS

This article presents a manufacturing concept for an installation-space conformable, box-shaped pressure vessel. As cuboid structures underlie high bending stresses under internal pressure, reinforcing struts are integrated into the tank volume. The incorporation of these reinforcements poses various challenges: The connection of the tension struts to the outer walls of the pressure vessel is of great importance, as this is where most of the forces that counteract the internal pressure are transmitted. For the technological realization of the strut connection, continuous-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic struts are positioned in a winding core. A CFRP-laminate is generated using filament winding, with the struts piercing the deposited carbon fiber rovings and protruding beyond the outer surface of the tank. The strut ends are anchored in the vessel wall by thermal bending and the application of additional outer CFRP layers. The main objective of this work is to present the novel manufacturing concept and verify its feasibility.