Finite element analysis of composite high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels

Composite pressure vessels (CPV) are used for large commercial and industrial applications such as softening, filtration and storage. It is expected that composite high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels will be widely used in hydrogen fueled vehicles. Progressive failure properties, the burst pressure and fatigue lifetime should be taken into account in design of composite pressure vessels. In this study, the design of composite hydrogen storage vessels based on unit load method along with complete structural analysis and evaluation of fatigue lifetime are performed using finite element commercial code ABAQUS. Unit load method covers many of the weaknesses of traditional methods and carries out more detailed design using many factors that composite materials provide for designer. The obtained FEM results are compared with experimental ones and a good agreement between them is noticed. By increasing the vessel pressure acceptable and appropriate behavior is observed in strain-pressure curves. As a result, the proposed method can be implemented with acceptable confidence and less cost for comprehensive design of composite high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels.