SEARCH · Search NASA
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Pair of reports discusses long-term environmental tests of glassfiber/epoxy composite pressure vessels. Strength diminishes during long exposure to environment. Since such data necessary for accurate design of long-life structures such as pressure vessels, NASA Lewis Research Center built outdoor test stand in 1973. Test stand maintains system under constant pressure loading without frequent intervention of personnel.
Comparative efficiencies of thin wall aerospace pressure vessels, emphasizing primary structural weight
Many aging composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), being used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are currently under evaluation to better quantify their reliability and clarify their likelihood of failure due to stress rupture and age-dependent issues. As a result, some test and analysis programs have been successfully accomplished and other related programs are still in progress at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) and other NASA centers, with assistance from the commercial sector. To support this effort, a group of Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) experts was assembled to provide NDE competence for pretest evaluation of test articles and for application of NDE technology to real-time testing. Techniques were required to provide assurance that the test article had adequate structural integrity and manufacturing consistency to be considered acceptable for testing and these techniques were successfully applied. Destructive testing is also being accomplished to better understand the physical and chemical property changes associated with progression toward "stress rupture" (SR) failure, and it is being associated with NDE response, so it can potentially be used to help with life prediction. Destructive work also includes the evaluation of residual stresses during dissection of the overwrap, laboratory evaluation of specimens extracted from the overwrap to evaluate physical property changes, and quantitative microscopy to inform the theoretical micromechanics.
A spacecraft pressure vessel has a tub member. A sidewall member is coupled to the tub member so that a bottom section of the sidewall member extends from an attachment intersection with the tub member and away from the tub member. The bottom section of the sidewall member receives and transfers a load through the sidewall member.
A pressure vessel includes a ported fitting having an annular flange formed on an end thereof and a tank that envelopes the annular flange. A crack arresting barrier is bonded to and forming a lining of the tank within the outer surface thereof. The crack arresting barrier includes a cured resin having a post-curing ductility rating of at least approximately 60% through the cured resin, and further includes randomly-oriented fibers positioned in and throughout the cured resin.
A composite overwrapped pressure vessel is provided which includes a composite overwrapping material including fibers disposed in a resin matrix. At least first and second kinds of fibers are used. These fibers typically have characteristics of high strength and high toughness to provide impact resistance with increased pressure handling capability and low weight. The fibers are applied to form a pressure vessel using wrapping or winding techniques with winding angles varied for specific performance characteristics. The fibers of different kinds are dispersed in a single layer of winding or wound in distinct separate layers. Layers of fabric comprised of such fibers are interspersed between windings for added strength or impact resistance. The weight percentages of the high toughness and high strength materials are varied to provide specified impact resistance characteristics. The resin matrix is formed with prepregnated fibers or through wet winding. The vessels are formed with or without liners.
The design concepts used for metal-lined glass-fiber composite pressure vessels are described, comparing the structural characteristics of the composite designs with each other and with homogeneous metal pressure vessels. Specific design techniques and available design data are identified. The discussion centers around two distinctly different design concepts, which provide the basis for defining metal lined composite vessels as either (1) thin-metal lined, or (2) glass fiber reinforced (GFR). Both concepts are described and associated development problems are identified and discussed. Relevant fabrication and testing experience from a series of NASA-Lewis Research Center development efforts is presented.
Report presents theoretical and experimental study of stiffness of lightweight, jointed pressure vessels made of wound graphite fibers and epoxy. Specimens fabricated from layers of graphite fibers, wet with epoxy, on aluminum mandrel. Segment ends thickened with interspersed layers of axially oriented fibers to reduce pinhole bearing stresses and local deformations. Segments cured at 390 degrees F (199 degrees C). Report presents results of vibrational tests of one-quarter-scale models of wound-filament pressure vessels.
Kevlar 49/epoxy composite is growing in use as a structural material because of its high strength-to-weight ratio. Currently, it is used for the Trident rocket motor case and for various pressure vessels on the Space Shuttle. In 1979, the initial results for aging of filament-wound cylindrical pressure vessels which were manufactured with preproduction Kevlar 49 (Hamstad, 1979) were published. This preproduction fiber was called PRD 49 III. This report updates the continuing study to 10-year data and also presents 7.5-year data for spherical pressure vessels wound with production Kevlar 49. For completeness, this report will again describe the specimens of the original study with PRD 49 as well as specimens for the new study with Kevlar 49.
Thin walled pressure test vessel using low-melting alloy-filled joint to attach shell to heads
Two hundred and fifty Aramid fiber/epoxy pressure vessels were filament-wound over spherical aluminum mandrels under controlled conditions typical for advanced filament-winding. A random set of 30 vessels was proof-tested to 74% of the expected burst pressure; acoustic emission data were obtained during the proof test. A specially designed fixture was used to permit in situ calibration of the acoustic emission system for each vessel by the fracture of a 4-mm length of pencil lead (0.3 mm in diameter) which was in contact with the vessel. Acoustic emission signatures obtained during testing showed larger than expected variabilities in the mechanical damage done during the proof tests. To date, identification of the cause of these variabilities has not been determined.
This new start project (FY12-14) will design and demonstrate the ability of nondestructive evaluation sensors for the measurement of stresses on the inner diameter of a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel overwrap. Results will be correlated with other nondestructive evaluation technologies such as Acoustic Emission. The project will build upon a proof of concept study performed at KSC which demonstrated the ability of Magnetic Stress Gages to measure stresses at internal overwraps and upon current acoustic emission research being performed at WSTF; The gages will be produced utilizing Maundering Winding Magnetometer and/or Maundering Winding Magnetometer-array eddy current technology. The proof-of-concept study demonstrated a correlation between the sensor response and pressure or strain. The study also demonstrated the ability of Maundering Winding Magnetometer technology to monitor the stresses in a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel at different orientations and depths. The ultimate goal is to utilize this technology for the health monitoring of Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels for all future flight programs.
Pressure-activated valve mechanism seals small window in pressure chamber if window cracks or breaks, thereby preventing continued leakage or sudden decompression. Window used in experiments involving optical observation of processes in chamber. Valve mechanism activated by pressure from gas leaking through window.
Filament-wound, titanium-lined, fiber/epoxy pressure vessels were made using a very high-strength graphite fiber (3570-MPa typical fiber strength). The 0.254-mm-thick titanium liner was used to improve burst performance. The pressure vessels achieved an average burst performance of 241 kPa.cu m/kg, and the fatigue life of titanium liners with good welds (cycled to 50% of the average expected burst pressure) was in excess of 2000 cycles.
This three-year project (FY12-14) will design and demonstrate the ability of new Magnetic Stress Gages for the measurement of stresses on the inner diameter of a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel overwrap. The sensors are being tested at White Sands Testing Facility (WSTF) where the results will be correlated with a known nondestructive technique acoustic emission. The gages will be produced utilizing Meandering Winding Magnetometer (MWM) and/or MWM array eddy current technology. The ultimate goal is to utilize this technology for the health monitoring of Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels for all future flight programs. The first full-scale pressurization test was performed at WSTF in June 2012. The goals of this test were to determine adaptations of the magnetic stress gauge instrumentation that would be necessary to allow multiple sensors to monitor the vessel's condition simultaneously and to determine how the sensor response changes with sensor selection and orientation. The second full scale pressurization test was performed at WSTF in August 2012. The goals of this test were to monitor the vessel's condition with multiple sensors simultaneously, to determine the viability of the multiplexing units (MUX) for the application, and to determine if the sensor responses in different orientations are repeatable. For both sets of tests the vessel was pressured up to 6,000 psi to simulate maximum operating pressure. Acoustic events were observed during the first pressurization cycle. This suggested that the extended storage period prior to use of this bottle led to a relaxation of the residual stresses imparted during auto-frettage. The pressurization tests successfully demonstrated the use of multiplexers with multiple MWM arrays to monitor a vessel. It was discovered that depending upon the sensor orientation, the frequencies, and the sense element, the MWM arrays can provide a variety of complementary information about the composite overwrapped pressure vessel load conditions. For example, low frequency measurements can be used to monitor the overwrap thickness and changes associated with pressure level. High frequency data is dominated by the properties of the overwrap, including the fiber orientations and lay-up of the layers.
Johnson Controls Battery Group, Inc. has developed a multiple cell common pressure vessel (CPV) Nickel Hydrogen battery that offers significant weight, volume, cost and interfacing advantages over the conventional individual pressure vessel (IPV) Nickel Hydrogen configuration that is currently used for aerospace applications. The baseline CPV design was successfully demonstrated through the testing of a 26-cell prototype, which completed over 7,000 44% depth-of-discharge LEO cycles at COMSAT Laboratories. Two-cell boilerplate batteries have now exceeded 12,500 LEO cycles in ongoing laboratory tests. CPV batteries using both nominal 5" and 10" diameter vessels are currently available. The flexibility of the design allows these diameters to provide a broad capability for a variety of space applications.
Bosses were made of fiber/resin composite materials to evaluate their potential in lightweight pressure vessels. An approximate 25% weight savings over the standard aluminum boss was achieved without boss failures during burst tests. Polymer liners and metal liners are used in fiber composite pressure vessels for containment of gases. The internal support of these liners required during the filament winding process has previously been provided by dissolvable salt mandrels. An internal pressurization technique has been developed which allows overwinding the liner without other means of support and without collapse. Study was made of several additional concepts including styrene/Saran, styrene/flexible epoxy.
Two different Kevlar-49 filament-reinforced metal sphere designs were developed, and six vessels of each type were fabricated and subjected to fatigue cycling, sustained loading, and hydrostatic burst. The 61 cm (24 inch) diameter Kevlar-49/cryoformed 301 stainless steel pressure vessels demonstrated the required pressure cycle capability, burst factor of safety, and a maximum pressure times volume divided by weight (pV/W) performance of 210 J/g (834 000 in-lb/lbm) at burst; this represented a 25 to 30% weight saving over the lightest weight comparable, 6A1-4V Ti, homogeneous pressure vessel. Both the Kevlar/stainless steel design and the 97 cm (38 inch) diameter Kevlar-49/2219-T62 aluminum sphere design demonstrated nonfragmentation and controlled failure mode features when pressure cycled to failure at operating pressure. When failure occurred during pressure cycling, the mode was localized leakage and not catastrophic. Kevlar/stainless steel vessels utilized a unique conical boss design, and Kevlar/aluminum vessels incorporated a tie-rod to carry port loads; both styles of polar fittings performed as designed during operational testing of the vessels.