Experimental and Numerical Investigation into the Influence of Layup Sequence on the Mechanical Performance of Composite Pressure Vessels for H₂ Storage

Abstract

Fuel cell electric vehicles can provide the possibility to meet CO₂ emission reduction targets, but these vehicles require cost effective energy storage solutions. The current most mature technology uses compressed hydrogen, stored in composite pressure vessels (CPVs) manufactured by filament winding. Structural optimization of CPVs is important to meet both safety and cost requirements. This research aims to contribute to future CPV optimization strategies by investigating the effects of stacking sequence on the burst pressure and strain response. Two different winding angles were considered, related to a helical type winding and circumferential type winding, which were varied in sequence in terms of positioning and grouping. The manufacturing parameters were kept constant for all considered stacking sequences and were applied to a sub-scale pressure vessel geometry. Detailed experimental characterization revealed differences in burst pressure and strain measured with full-field digital image correlation with predefined deformation parameters. Analytical and finite element methods were used to capture related mechanical effects. The strain and burst pressure results from both approaches were correlated to conclude that the order of a sequence affects the structural performance, causing differences in CPV burst pressure of at most 49%. The results show that specific sequence choices can lead to higher burst pressures.