Life Prediction of Composite Pressure Vessels (MSC P1T39-232)

The Army and other Department of Defense (DoD) agencies make extensive use of composite over-wrapped pressure vessels (COPV); applications include missile sensor cooling containers to gas storage for life-support systems. The research program outlined byMaterials Sciences Corporation (MSC) in this proposal focuses on defining tests and analyses required to enable one to reliably design future COPV to have a safe service life in excess of 30 years. The Phase I program will include development of testprotocols for characterizing the stress-rupture behavior of composite strands and laminated architectures, demonstration of analysis procedures for relating the statistical variability of unidirectional composite strand failure data to the compositelaminate level and ultimately the COPV level, and generation of a program-planning document (PPD) that outlines lead the fleet testing protocol needed to continuously update life extension recommendations. A recent study has concluded that if the servicelife of these pressure vessels can be extended to as much as 30 more years, the DoD could realize an acquisitions cost savings exceeding $500M. The research proposed by MSC is expected to yield the statistically based test and analysis protocol necessaryto design COPV for extended service lifetimes. Once derived and validated, the lifetime certification methodology will be presented to government regulatory agencies such as the National Institute of Standards and Testing and the Compressed GasAssociation for approval. Hence, the research program outlined in this proposal has the potential to impact virtually every COPV in the commercial market.