Conceptual design of a composite pressure hull. (1st December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Craven, R.; Graham, D.; Dalzel-Job, J.
• Is Part Of: Ocean engineering. Volume 128(2016)
• Page Start: 153
• Page End: 162
• Publication Date: 2016-12-01
• Subjects: Pressure hull -- Composites -- Finite element analysis (FEA) -- Carbon fibre -- Glass fibre -- Collapse depth; Ocean engineering -- Periodicals; Ocean engineering; Periodicals; 620.4162
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2016.10.031
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0029-8018

Abstract

Abstract: Composites are an attractive material for pressure hulls because of their high strength and low density. This paper presents a history of composite pressure vessel hull development over the last 50 years and uses the lessons learnt, to develop a composite pressure hull concept for a shallow diving hull, or buoyancy device. This is done by evaluating several concepts modelled using Finite Element Analysis for weight and other criteria. A converged solution is developed and further analysed for sensitivity to geometric imperfections. These imperfections are shown to have a significant effect on the collapse depth of the composite pressure hull. Highlights: Composite pressure hulls offer significant weight savings compared with steel hulls. Sandwich panel construction offers biggest weight savings. Collapse depth sensitivity to imperfection decreases with imperfection size.