Integrated Design of D.D.I., Filament Winding and Curing Processes for Manufacturing the High Pressure Vessel (Type II)

Abstract As energy crisis and environment pollution all around the world threaten the widespread use of fossil fuels, compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are explored as an alternative to the conventional gasoline powered vehicles. Because of the limited space available for the car, the composite pressure vessel (Type II) has been applied to the CNG vehicles to reach large capacity and weight lightening vehicles. High pressure vessel (Type II) is composed of a composite layer and a metal liner. The metal liner is formed by the deep drawing and ironing (D.D.I.) process, which is a complex process of deep drawing and ironing. The cylinder part is reinforced by composite layer wrapped through the filament winding process and is bonded to the liner by the curing process. In this study, an integrated design method was presented by establishing the techniques for FE analysis of entire processes (D.D.I., filament winding and curing processes) to manufacture the CNG composite pressure vessel (Type II). Dimensions of the dies and the punches of the 1st (cup drawing), 2nd (redrawing-ironing 1-ironing 2) and 3rd (redrawing-ironing) stages were calculated theoretically, and shape of tractrix die to be satisfied with the minimum forming load was suggested for life improvement and manufacturing costs in the D.D.I. process. Thickness of the composite material was determined in the filament winding process, finally, conditions of the curing process (number of heating stage, curing temperature, heating rate and time) were proposed to reinforce adhesive strength between the composite layers.