HIGH PRESSURE TANK FOR NATURAL GAS OPERATED VEHICLES

Abstract

Compressed natural gas storage tank suitable for gas operated vehicles can be advantageously made of thin walled aluminium linear overwinded with glass/epoxy reinforcement. These materials combined show a perfect coacting of liner and composite shell and further on the high tensile strength of glass-fibre reinforced epoxy layers can be totally utilized. The advantages of the chosen construction can only be maximized in case of composite shell with optimal wall thickness and optimal prestressing of the tank. So the design task is to optimize the construction which can be done according to this paper. The reliability of the proposed design method together with advantages of the chosen structural solution are proved by the design, the manufacture, and testing of a prototype tank.