Computational models for the stress analysis of metal composite overwrapped

pressure vessels
Andrey Burov

Citation: AIP Conference Proceedings 1785, 040011 (2016); doi: 10.1063/1.4967068

View online: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4967068
View Table of Contents: http://aip.scitation.org/toc/apc/1785/1
Published by the American Institute of Physics

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 Computational Models for the Stress Analysis of Metal
Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels
Andrey Burov 1, a)
1
Special Designing and Technological Bureau “Nauka”, Institute of Computational Technologies, Siberian Branch
of the Russian Academy of Sciences, P.O. box 25515, 660049 Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
a)
Corresponding author: andrey@icm.krasn.ru

Abstract. Due to their high weight efficiency, filament wound composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) are
widely used in aerospace and satellite structures. However, there are certain difficulties in design and analyzing the
structural behavior of COPVs, which require improved computational models. The aim of this study is to compare
models developed for finite element analysis of a COPV subjected to internal pressure. Factors the models should take
into account to ensure adequate representation of the structural features are formulated. Custom procedures integrated
into a commercial package are used to generate 3D and axisymmetric models. The results of the stress analysis of a
pressure vessel with a thin titanium liner overwrapped by a carbon/epoxy composite obtained with different
computational models are compared.

INTRODUCTION
Composite overwrapped pressure vessels manufactured by filament winding are widely used in aerospace and
satellite structures, where weight efficiency is of prime importance. In such applications, COPVs offer significant
advantages over conventional all-metallic pressure vessels due to high specific strength and moduli of composites
[1]. However, there are certain difficulties in design and the analysis of the structural behavior of a COPV associated
with the anisotropic properties of fibrous composites, complicated ply lay-up and a variety of possible limit states of
its constituents [2]. This requires the development of computational models reflecting all significant geometric and
deformation characteristics of composites vessels. Universal commercial finite element codes, such as ANSYS,
ABAQUS or NASTRAN, have no standard capabilities sufficient to build a computer model of COPV structures
that can adequately predict the stress-strain state. These limitations can be overcome by integrating into a
commercial software user's macros and procedures that implement the required features.
Several factors that mainly influence the structural behavior have to be considered when building a
computational model for analysis of a COPV:
x ply stacking sequence, composite thickness distribution, winding path and the corresponding fiber
orientation with respect to the meridian are interdependent and cannot be selected arbitrarily;
x fiber winding angle changes along the shell meridian, as well as through the thickness direction, due to the
fact that it is determined not by the liner geometry, but the surface on which a fiber tape is currently wound;
x the actual location of the tape in the vicinity of the pole opening is significantly different from the
theoretical trajectory, which requires adjustment based on the tape geometry and the winding parameters;
x the composite shell is a multilayer structure wherein each layer is an orthotropic composite material;
x the composite shell may be formed by winding several families of tapes (multizone winding), each of them
being characterized by individual properties;
x even if the contribution of the liner to the overall load-bearing capacity can be small, its modeling is
required, as the vessel performance is often determined by the integrity of the liner;

Mechanics, Resource and Diagnostics of Materials and Structures (MRDMS-2016)

AIP Conf. Proc. 1785, 040011-1–040011-4; doi: 10.1063/1.4967068
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1447-1/$30.00

040011-1
 x the liner itself is a complex structure composed of a number of elements, and it must therefore be modeled
in detail sufficient to represent its structural features;
x there is a contact interaction between the liner and the composite shell at their interface.
Also, the model should have a capability to describe parametrically the input data and to be integrated into
computer-aided engineering software.
The aim of this study is to compare computational models developed for the finite element analysis of COPVs
subjected to internal pressure. Original procedures coded with a parametric design language are used within the
ANSYS commercial package [3].

FINITE ELEMENT MODELS

Generally, there are three options for numerical modeling of a COPV that are based on types of finite elements
employed to define structures of the laminated composite shell and the liner (Fig. 1a). Brief descriptions of the
modeling techniques used in the study are presented below. The models are built using custom procedures coded
with APDL (ANSYS Parametric Design Language). The input data include mechanical properties of materials, the
liner geometry, winding parameters (geodesic or non-geodesic pattern, tape width and thickness, the number of
layers, etc.) and attributes of the finite element mesh (the number of divisions through the thickness, along the
meridian and the circumference).
1. 3D simulation using a twenty-node element in the layered and homogeneous structural solid form can be
employed to represent, respectively, the composite shell and the liner (Fig. 1b). The geometry of the liner can be
defined by importing the solid model or by a set of discrete points. Taking advantage of the cyclic symmetry, only
an axisymmetric section of the whole structure needs to be modeled with corresponding boundary conditions. The
modeling the COPV structure with 3D solid elements is the most computationally expensive due to a large number
of nodes. At the same time, it provides the most accurate solution for the through-the-thickness stress distribution
and allows one to analyze in detail the structural features of the liner, such as the design of polar bosses.
2. As against the solid element, the use of the layered shell element does not require through-the-thickness
discretization, and thus significantly reduces computational efforts while retaining acceptable accuracy (Fig. 1c).
The element consists of perfectly bonded layers of the composite tape oriented according to the winding pattern. To
model the liner, shell elements with a single isotropic layer are used. The main shortcomings of the entire shell
model are simplified shear strain distribution and its limitations to the liner geometry, as only relatively simple
shapes can be modeled. The former can be dealt with by the use of one shell element per each composite layer and
connecting adjacent layers by means of contact interactions. The latter can be amended by the use of the hybrid
approach, when the composite is modeled with the shell elements, while the liner is meshed with the solid elements.
3. Winding of a COPV produces an axisymmetric lay-up, as, for every tape having a winding angle of +M, there
is a corresponding tape at -M. This configuration can be considered as a balanced angle-ply laminate. This implies
that there are no in-plane shear strains and extension-shear coupling. Equivalent homogeneous material properties
for each element within a layer can then be computed depending on the winding angle. This allows implementing an
axisymmetric model of the COPV structure based on 2D eight-node quadratic elements (Fig. 1d). The disadvantages
of this approach include the need for a strict symmetry of geometry and a load around the rotation axis, and its
inapplicability to progressive failure analysis.
As the liner and the composite shell are not mechanically joined, general contact conditions with friction are
imposed between the two components in all models. The von Mises elastic-plastic nonlinear model is used for the
liner material.
The composite thickness and winding angle influence significantly the stress state of a COPV; therefore, an
accurate prediction of these parameters is required. The geometrical characteristics of the composite shell are
calculated taking into account the winding sequence, the type width and thickness, and the condition of constant
material volume in the vicinity of the pole.
The composite thickness t as a function of the shell radius r is calculated as [1, 4]

t R R 1  ( r0 / R) ª 1 r0 r  wº
t r  « cos  cos 1 0 for r0  2w d r d R (1)
w ¬ r r »¼
t r  A0  A1r  A2r 2  A3r for r0 d r d r0  2w ,

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where tR is the thickness at the radius of the shell equator R, w is the tape width, r0 is the pole opening radius, Ai
denotes coefficients of a polynomial function approximating the thickness distribution.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
FIGURE 1. A composite pressure vessel with a metallic liner: calculation scheme (a), solid finite element model (b), shell finite
element model, axisymmetric model (d)

The winding angle for both geodesic and non-geodesic fiber trajectories can be expressed as [5]

dM ª sinM ˜ tan M rcc º rc tan M

k«  2
cos M »  , (2)
dy ¬ r 1  rc ¼ r

where φ is the angle between the tape and the shell meridian, k is the slippage coefficient, r and y are the radial and
axial coordinates of the shell, respectively.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The above described computational models have been used for stress analysis of a 200 liter COPV composed of
a thin titanium liner and a carbon/epoxy composite. The shape of the vessel meridian is determined by the design of
geodesic isotensoid structures [1] for the burst pressure of 16 MPa. The following mechanical properties are used in
the calculations: E=110 GPa, Q=0.32, V02=360 MPa, Vul =450 MPa for the titanium alloy, and Е1=165 GPa,
Е2=Е3=7.7 GPa, G12=G13=3.8 GPa, G23=3.4 GPa, Q=Q=0.32,Q=0.45 for the unidirectional fibrous tape. The 15º

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axisymmetric segment of the vessel is split into 800 elements along the meridian and 30 elements in the
circumference direction.
For a ±Mangle-ply laminate shell of revolution loaded with uniform pressure (Fig. 1a), the stresses V1 and V2
acting in the principal directions of the orthotropic tape can be determined as [1]

1 ªV D  V E º
V1 «  (V D  V E )(1  g 2 )»
2(1  g1  g 2 ) ¬ cos 2M ¼
(3)
1 ª VD  V E º
V2 «  (V D  V E )(1  g1 )»
2(1  g1  g 2 ) ¬ cos 2M ¼ ,

G12 (1  Q 21) 2 G12 (1  Q 12 ) 2

where g1 tan 2M , g2 tan 2M , VD and VD are the meridian and circumferential
E1 E2
stresses, respectively.
The stresses acting in the fiber direction, calculated using different models for internal pressure of 10 MPa, are
presented in Fig. 2a. Comparable stress distributions are observed and the best agreement with the analytical
solution (3) is provided by the 3D solid model. However, the stress distribution is not uniform, and it displays a
significant gradient through the composite thickness, especially near the pole opening area, as it is shown in Fig. 2b.
Similar results are obtained for the stress acting across the fiber direction. Note that the computational models
predict a more realistic stress profile than does the analytic solution based on the momentless theory of shells.

(a) (b)
FIGURE 2. The principal stress distributions: at the middle surface of the composite overwrap calculated by different
models (a), at the inner and outer layers calculated by the 3D solid model (b)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work was supported by the state on behalf of the Ministry of Education of Russia, under the Federal Target
Program entitled Research and Development on Priority Directions of the Scientific and Technological Complex of
Russia for 2014-2020, RFMEFI60714X0038.

REFERENCES
1. V. V. Vasiliev, Composite Pressure Vessels: Analysis, Design, and Manufacturing (Ridge Publishing,
Blacksburg, VA, 2009).
2. A. M. Lepikhin, A. E. Burov and V. V. Moskvichev, J. Mach. Manufact. Reliab. 44, 344–349 (2015).
3. ANSYS Academic Research, Release 14.5, Help System. ANSYS, Inc.
4. R. Wang, W. Jiao, W. Liu and F. J. Yang, J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 29, 3345–3352 (2010).
5. L. Zu., S. Koussios and A. Beukers, Compos. Struct. 92, 2307–2313 (2010).

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