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Composite LPG Cylinders as an Alternative to Steel Cylinders: Finite Element

Approach

Conference Paper · January 2006

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 International Conference on Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ICMM 2006), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006, pp. 363-368.

Composite LPG Cylinders as an Alternative to Steel Cylinders: Finite

Element Approach
Naser S. Al-Huniti* and Osama M. Al-Habahbeh
*Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Jordan
Amman 11942 – JORDAN
E-mail: alhuniti@ju.edu.jo

ABSTRACT
A finite element analysis is performed using ANSYS software to investigate the prospect of utilizing
composite pressure vessels (CPVs) to store and transpose liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead of steel
vessels. A finite element model that is identical to the actual steel LPG vessel used in the local market is
constructed. Composite (cross-ply) and steel are used for the vessel materials for comparison purposes.
Different types of loads are applied to both models in an identical manner and their performances are
compared. Loading types include internal pressure, axial load, storing radial load, and dynamic impact load.
It is found that for the same geometry and loading, the composite pressure vessel has lower stress and
higher deflection than the steel vessel.

KEYWORDS: Composite, LPG, Cylinder, Finite Element

INTRODUCTION finite element technique as a method of analysis

Composite materials in general offer a high
potential for manufacturing of structures featuring
an interesting mechanical performance, mainly
with regard to specific stiffness, specific strength,
damage tolerance, and energy absorption
capability. Composite pressure vessels are a
perfect example of the advantages that fiber-
reinforced composite materials can offer. They are
constructed from strong fibers in combination with
a resin or plastic. The process for producing the
composite pressure vessel is called filament
winding. Composite pressure vessels were
originally developed for aerospace applications.
Nowadays, such vessels are used in a wide
variety of applications such as water treatment
stations and petroleum industry. The current state
of the art composite pressure vessels are light,
safe, but unfortunately rather expensive compared
to steel vessels. This is one of the main reasons
why a broad introduction of composite vessels for
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage and
transportation has not taken place yet.
Several investigations concerned with the
application of composite pressure vessels in
different fields have been published. A number of
investigators studied the effect of filament winding
technology and parameters on the performance of
composite pressure vessels such as Shen [1],
Cohen et. al. [2], Koussios et. al. [3], and others. A
number of publications with a concentration on the
of composite pressure vessels were published
such as Mackerle [4], Kabir [5], Gramoll [6], Sun
et. al. [7], Yousefpour and Nejhad [8], and Mirza
et. al. [9]. A more detailed description of the above
literature and many others can be found in the
review by Al-Habahbeh and Al-Huniti [10].
The purpose of this work is primarily to
perform finite element analysis of a composite
pressure vessel under different loads and to
investigate the possibility of replacing current
LPG steel vessels with CPVs. The analysis is
carried out using the finite element software
package (ANSYS). To the best of our knowledge,
no specific study concerning composite LPG
vessels similar to domestic steel vessels has
been done yet.
THE MODEL
The model used in this study is shown in
figure 1 (a). It is identical in dimensions and
shape to the steel LPG vessel used in the local
market. The overall height is 643 mm, the height
of the cylindrical part is 310 mm, the inner
diameter is 300 mm and the thickness is 3 mm.
The two torispherical caps are of 109 mm height
each. The volume capacity is 26.2 liter. The foot-
ring is of 300 mm diameter and 70 mm height,
and the handle is of 160 mm diameter and
100mm height.
 International Conference on Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ICMM 2006), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006, pp. 363-368.

(a) (b)
Figure 1. Model of the LPG cylinder used in the study (a) Shape and dimensions of the LPG cylinder
(b) Finite element axi-symmetric model.

Symmetry of the vessel is utilized by In order to choose a proper composite

building a two-dimensional, axi-symmetric finite material for the vessel some relevant references
element model shown in figure 1 (b). The axi- are consulted and a composite material referred
symmetric model is divided into 40 shell to as “cross-ply”, used by NG, et. al. [11] is
elements. The proper boundary conditions are chosen. The cross-ply composite material is an
applied on the model to simulate the behavior of E-glass/Epoxy plain weave woven ply. The
an actual vessel. All degrees of freedom are stacking sequence is [0/90/90/0]. An E-glass
constrained at the circle where the foot ring plain weave fabric cloth is the fiber
supports the vessel. Only movement in the axial reinforcement [11].
direction is allowed at the center of the top and
bottom heads of the vessel. Shell elements (axi- ANALYSIS:
symmetric structural shell elements) are used to
Internal Pressure Loading:
mesh the model.
The main function of an LPG cylinder is to
The following assumptions are used in the
store and transport gas at a high pressure.
analysis to follow:
Therefore, internal pressure represents the
 Curing residual stresses are neglected.
major load on a typical LPG cylinder. The
 All materials are linear elastic (except in
response of the CPV to internal pressure is first
impact analysis).
investigated. The axi-symmetric FE model is
 The vessel is thin-walled. This is justified
used in conjunction with the composite (cross-
since the thickness-to-diameter ratio is
ply) and steel materials. The internal pressure
0.01. Therefore, the state of stress in the
acting on the inside wall of the vessel is an axi-
vessel is biaxial.
symmetric load acting on 360˚ basis. The vessel
 Hoop and meridian stresses are assumed
is constrained against all degrees of freedom at
constant throughout the wall-thickness.
the foot ring support, and allowed to move in the
 In impact analysis, it is assumed that air
axial direction only at the center of the top and
resistance is neglected and the vessel is
the bottom heads. It is also constrained against
assumed to hit a rigid target.
moving in the circumferential direction.

Axial Loading
Axial load represents one of the loads
acting on a typical LPG cylinder resulting from
storing and handling. The response of the CPV
 International Conference on Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ICMM 2006), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006, pp. 363-368.
to a compressive axial force is investigated. The
analysis is conducted for both empty and full
vessel cases. The axial force is distributed over
the circle of contact between the handle and the
vessel. The axi-symmetric FE model is used in
conjunction with the cross-ply composite and
steel materials. The vessel is constrained
against all degrees of freedom at the foot ring
support, and allowed to move in the axial
direction only at the center of the top and the
bottom heads. It is also constrained against
moving in the circumferential direction.
Radial Load
When the vessels are stacked as shown in
figure 2, each vessel is subjected to radial
forces distributed on lines along the cylindrical
part of the vessel. This load is acting in a
direction opposite to that of the internal
pressure. The response of the CPV to radial
force acting along the vessel resulting from this
storing arrangement is investigated, and then
compared to the steel vessel. The analysis is
conducted for both empty and full vessel cases.
Three-dimensional half-vessel FE model is used
in conjunction with the cross-ply and steel
materials. In order to conduct the radial force
analysis, the vessel is constrained against all
degrees of freedom at the foot-ring support, and
allowed to move only in the axial direction at the
center of the top and the bottom heads. The
edges of the model are allowed to move in the
plane formed by radial and axial directions only,
and not to move in the circumferential direction.
Figure 2. The usual way of storing LPG
vessels
Impact Loading
Impact loading is another load that might
result during the handling and transporting of the
LPG cylinder. Impact analysis is conducted
using the explicit solver ANSYS LS-DYNA,
which is part of ANSYS software. The response
of the cross-ply CPV to impact load is
investigated, and then compared to the steel
vessel. A simplified 3-D FE model of the CPV is
used. Because it is not possible to conduct this
analysis using a linear elastic model, an inelastic
nonlinear damage composite model is used.
The same simplified 3-D FE model is used for
the steel vessel, in conjunction with bilinear
kinematic hardening von-Mises plasticity model.
The empty vessel impact analysis is conducted
using explicit solution. The full vessel impact
analysis is conducted using implicit-to-explicit
sequential solution after the internal pressure is
applied on the vessel. When the vessel is
dropped (from height h at zero velocity), its
velocity (vi) at height hi can be calculated from
the free-fall analysis as follows:
vi  2 g (h  hi ) (1)
where g is the acceleration of gravity.
MODEL VERIFICATION
In order to verify the validity of the finite
element model, an isotropic analysis of the
same model is performed on an identical steel
vessel and the results are compared to those
predicted analytically by Al-Omari [12]. Results
of this part are shown in figures 3(a) and (b).
Figure 3(a) presents the maximum principal
stresses plotted against internal pressure. It can
be seen that the prediction of the finite element
model is close to Al-Omari [12]. Figure 3(b)
presents the variations of the maximum radial
deflection with internal pressure. It is seen that
up to a pressure of about 3.5 MPa, both models
have close predictions. The variations that are
observed after this pressure are attributed to the
fact that the behavior of the vessel as predicted
by Al-Omari [12] becomes plastic. The present
finite element model is linear elastic. For the
purpose of this study, we are only interested in
the elastic range of these curves.
 International Conference on Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ICMM 2006), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006, pp. 363-368.

(a) (b)
Figure 3. Results of the model verification for a steel vessel in terms of the variations of (a) The
maximum principal stress and (b) The maximum radial deflection, with applied internal pressure.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
Internal Pressure Loading
The response of the LPG vessel to internal
pressure loading is summarized in figures 4 and
5. The first principal stress contours are shown
in figure 4. It is noticed that maximum stresses
occur in the cap area, which is expected due to
the geometry of this part. Figure 5(a) presents
the variation of the maximum stresses with
internal pressure. It is noticed that the hoop
stress and the meridional stress in the steel
vessel are greater than those in the composite
vessel for the same applied pressure. This is
considered an advantage for the composite
vessel as the pressure carrying capacity is
increased and more safety and reduced weight
of the vessel are achieved. In figure 5(b),
maximum radial and axial deflections versus
internal pressure are presented. It is seen that
the maximum radial and axial deflections in the
composite vessel are greater than those in the
steel vessel. This is expected since the
composite vessel has less stiffness and
therefore more flexible.
composite vessel for the same applied axial
force for both empty and full vessel cases.
Radial Load
A radial static load varying from 2 kN up to
10 kN in a 2 kN step is applied along the
cylindrical part of the model. This load is acting
in a direction opposite to that of the internal
pressure. Figure 7 shows the variations of the
maximum principal stress with applied radial
force for the composite and steel vessels in both
empty and full states. It can be seen that the
maximum principal stress in the cross-ply vessel
is slightly higher than the steel vessel. The
maximum principal stresses are compressive in
the empty vessels and tensile in the full vessels.
The tensile stress is due to the effect of the gas
pressure which opposes the effect of the applied
radial load.

Axial Loading
An axial compressive static load varying from 2
kN up to 10 kN is applied with 2 kN step. Main
results are summarized in figure 6. In this figure,
the maximum principal stress is plotted against
the applied axial compressive force for both
empty and full vessel. It is observed that the full
cross–ply and steel vessels have lower stress
than the empty ones, due to LPG pressure,
which acts against the axial compressive load.
Therefore, in the case of full vessel, the applied
internal pressure decreases the effect of the Figure 4. Maximum principal stress contours in
axial load. As in the internal pressure case, the the composite half-vessel model subjected to
steel vessel is stressed more than the internal pressure.
 International Conference on Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ICMM 2006), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006, pp. 363-368.

(a) (b)
Figure 5. Results of the internal pressure loading in terms of variations of (a) The maximum hoop
and meridional stresses and (b) The maximum radial and axial deflections with applied internal pressure.

Figure 6. Results of the axial compressive loading in Figure 7. Results of the radial loading in terms of
terms of variations of the maximum principal stress variations of the maximum principal stress with
with applied axial force applied radial force

160 160
Max. Principal Stress (MPa)

140 140
Max. Principal Stres (MPa)

120 120

100 100

80 80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
Empty Steel Vessel Empty Composite Vessel Full Steel Vessel Full Composite Vessel

(a) (b)
Figure 8. Results of the impact loading in terms of variations of the maximum principal stress for each
drop test of composite vessel and steel vessel (a) Empty Vessels (b) Full Vessels.

Impact Loading reference height (hi) of half meter, and the initial
The impact analysis described earlier is velocity is calculated using equation (1). Results
carried out on the empty and full steel and of this part are shown in figure 8(a) for the
composite vessels. In order to reduce computer- empty vessels and in figure 8(b) for the full
processing time, the simulation starts at a vessels. From the two figures, it can be noticed
 International Conference on Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ICMM 2006), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006, pp. 363-368.
that the full composite vessel and full steel
vessel have approximately the same maximum
stress. The empty steel vessel has much more
stress than the empty composite vessel. We
notice that a full CPV has more stress than an
empty one, whereas a full steel vessel has less
stress than the empty one. These results
together reflect the ability of composite vessel to
absorb shock loads more than steel vessel.
CONCLUSIONS
Finite element modeling of a composite LPG
cylinder is performed using ANSYS software
package, with the objective to compare its
response under different loads with a steel
cylinder of identical shape and dimensions. The
model is first verified by comparing with an existing
study for steel vessels. The behaviors of both
composite (cross-ply) and steel vessels when
subjected to internal pressure, axial load, radial
storing load and impact load are investigated.
Results obtained show that in general, the
deflection of the CPV is higher than the steel
model, and the stress is lower. It is concluded that
the composite cylinder has more stress carrying
capacity, more flexibility and more shock
absorbing capacity. As a result, this results in a
considerable weight-saving and safer vessel when
using a composite material for the LPG cylinder
instead of steel under the same operating
conditions.
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(2004), “Filament winding. Part 2: generic
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