Failure phenomena in metallic and metal-lined polymer composite pressure vessels for aerospace applications

Metallic and metal-lined polymer composite pressure vessels are extensively used in industries, including the aerospace industry. In the absence of unique failure criteria for the structural elements, phenomenological or empirical methodologies are used by researchers. This paper discusses comprehensive methodologies for predicting burst pressure of metallic and metal-lined polymer composite pressure vessels for aerospace applications. Metallic pressure vessels were analysed using Ansys software, considering the elastic-plastic nature of the materials. The progressive analysis was performed in metal-lined composite pressure vessels in an explicit mode using Ansys software. The problem of solution convergence is discussed in detail. The extent of degradation in static analysis is suggested after multiple analysis trials. In the unit pressure extrapolation technique, the stress components were evaluated using Ansys software and transformed into a local coordinate system, and hence, the failure pressure of the first-ply was identified by the maximum stress criterion. The analysis then continues with the degradation of the failed layers using Ansys software, and successive failures of layers were identified in steps. The results of burst pressure, evaluated through the present analyses, showed good agreement with the published test results. The procedures described in the paper would be of interest to the designers of pressure vessels.