Design of ber-reinforced composite pressure vessels under

various loading conditions

Levend Parnas
a,
*
, Nuran Katrc
b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey
b
ASELSAN Inc., P.O. Box 30, 06011 Etlik, Ankara, Turkey
Abstract
An analytical procedure is developed to design and predict the behavior of ber reinforced composite pressure vessels. The
classical lamination theory and generalized plane strain model is used in the formulation of the elasticity problem. Internal pressure,
axial force and body force due to rotation in addition to temperature and moisture variation throughout the body are considered.
Some 3D failure theories are applied to obtain the optimum values for the winding angle, burst pressure, maximum axial force and
the maximum angular speed of the pressure vessel. These parameters are also investigated considering hygrothermal eects.
2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Composite pressure vessels; Filament winding; Generalized plane strain problem; Hygrothermal eects; Burst pressure; Angular speed
1. Introduction
The use of ber reinforced and polymer-based
composites have been increasing. Various numbers of
applications have also been ourishing with this deve-
lopment. Fuel tanks, rocket motor cases, pipes are some
examples of pressure vessels made of composite mate-
rials. Ever increasing use of this new class of materials in
conventional applications is coupled with problems that
are intrinsic to the material itself. Diculties are many
folded. Determination of material properties, mechani-
cal analysis and design, failure of the structure are some
examples which all require a non-conventional ap-
proach.
Numerous applications concurrently are accompa-
nied by various researches in the related eld. Majority
of the studies in the analysis of composite pressure
vessels nds their origins in Lethnitskiis approach [1].
The application of the theory given in this book is later
applied to laminated composite structures in tubular
form Tsai [2]. The studies followed consider also dif-
ferent loading and environmental conditions. Recently,
there are some studies involved directly with tubes under
internal pressure [3,4]. In the study by Xia et al. [4], the
combined eect of thermomechanical loading in addi-
tion to internal pressure is considered.
In this study, an analytical procedure is developed
to design and predict the behavior of ber-reinforced
composite pressure vessels under combined mechanical
and hygrothermal loading. The mechanical part of
the analysis is similar to the study given in Ref. [5]. The
procedure is based on the classical laminated plate the-
ory. A cylindrical shell having a number of sub-layers,
each of which is cylindrically orthotropic, is treated as in
the state of plane strain. Internal pressure, axial force,
body force due to rotation in addition to temperature
and moisture variation throughout the body are con-
sidered as loading. In the study of Katrc [6], these
parameters are compared with the experimental results.
2. Formulation of problem
A thick-walled multi-layered lament wound cylin-
drical shell is considered in the analysis based on linear
elasticity solution. The following assumptions are made
for the formulation of the problem.
The pressure vessel is cylindrically orthotropic,
the pressure vessel has adjacent a angle lay-ups and
the adjacent a lay-ups act as a homogeneous and
orthotropic unit,
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: parnas@metu.edu.tr (L. Parnas), katirci@
mgeo.aselsan.com.tr (N. Katrc).
0263-8223/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0263- 8223( 02) 00037- 5
Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395
www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct
the vessel is in state of plane strain and only small
strains are considered through the analysis,
the length of the vessel is such that the longitudinal
bending deformation due to the end closures of the
vessel are limited to only small end portions of the
pressure vessel.
2.1. Eective elastic properties
A laminated composite with its own eective elastic
properties, contains a number of anisotropic plates.
When these eective elastic properties of the laminate
are used, the body is considered to responding to the
applied loads as a single unit. The eective elastic
properties of the laminate can be determined using the
theory of the laminated plates.
The lament wound structures, which is the subject of
this study, is assumed to be made of angle-ply laminates.
An angle-ply laminate has alternating lamina having a
and a winding angles. Therefore, a lament-wound
cylindrical shell, having a wind angle a can be treated
as an angle-ply laminate. For multi-layered cylinders,
each layer is an angle-ply laminate with its own wind
angle. Neglecting the eect of curvature, the eective
elastic properties of each of these layers can be formu-
lated as follows.
For an angle-ply lamina where bers are oriented at
an angle a with the positive x-axis as shown in Fig. 1, the
eective elastic properties are given by
1
E
x
0
x
0

cos
4
a
E
11

sin
4
a
E
22

1
G
12
_
2
m
12
E
11
_
cos
2
a sin
2
a
1
E
y
0
y
0

sin
4
a
E
11

cos
4
a
E
22

1
G
12
_
2
m
12
E
11
_
cos
2
a sin
2
a
1
G
x
0
y
0

1
E
11
2
m
12
E
11

1
E
22

1
E
11
_
2
m
12
E
11

1
E
22

1
G
12
_
cos
2
2a
m
x
0
y
0 E
x
0
x
0
m
12
E
11
_

1
E
11
_
2
m
12
E
11

1
E
22

1
G
12
_
cos
2
a sin
2
a
_
m
y
0
x
0
E
y
0
y
0
E
x
0
x
0
m
x
0
y
0 1
In this study, the elastic constants related to the
thickness coordinate however, are assumed as E
z
0
z
0
E
33
E
22
and G
y
0
z
0 G
x
0
z
0 G
x
0
y
0 .
In a lament-wound pressure vessel, the structure is
made-up of several angle lay-ups, each of which acts as
an orthotropic unit. The elastic constants of each layer is
assumed as equal to eective elastic constants of a bal-
anced and symmetric laminate which has two layers of
winding angles (a) and (a) with equal thicknesses.
The generalized Hookes law in cylindrical coordi-
nates can be written as
feg
r;h;z
afrg
r;h;z
2
For an angle-ply lamina, due to the (a) congura-
tion, the shear coupling terms are zero. Then the com-
pliance matrix [a] can be represented in cylindrical
coordinates as
a
1
E
rr

m
rh
E
rr

m
rz
E
rr
0 0 0

m
rh
E
rr
1
E
hh

m
hz
E
hh
0 0 0

m
rz
E
rr

m
hz
E
hh
1
E
zz
0 0 0
0 0 0
1
G
hz
0 0
0 0 0 0
1
G
rz
0
0 0 0 0 0
1
G
rh
_

_
_

_
3
The material properties in cylindrical coordinates can
be obtained by simply replacing cartesian coordinates,
x, y and z, with r, h and z, respectively (Fig. 1).
2.2. Plane stress problem for a body in cylindrical
anisotropy
Lethnitskii [1] started the formulation with the plane
stress condition then the problem is converted to the
generalized plane strain problem where axial strain of
the system is equal to a constant rather than being zero.
The equilibrium equations, disregarding r
zz
, and the
equations of generalized Hookes Law for a body in
cylindrical anisotropy in cylindrical coordinates are
given by the following equations.
or
rr
or

1
r
or
rh
oh

r
rr
r
hh
r
R 0 4
or
rh
or

1
r
or
hh
oh
2
r
rh
r
H 0 5
e
rr
a
11
r
rr
a
12
r
hh
a
16
r
rh
e
hh
a
12
r
rr
a
22
r
hh
a
26
r
rh
e
zz
a
13
r
rr
a
23
r
hh
a
36
r
rh
c
rh
a
16
r
rr
a
22
r
hh
a
66
r
rh
6
Fig. 1. Global, local and material coordinates.
84 L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395
where R and H are the projections of the body forces
along r and h directions, respectively. The axial stress,
r
zz
, of the generalized plane strain problem will be ob-
tained by using generalized Hookes Law. The strain
displacement relations for the same body are:
e
rr

ou
r
or
e
hh

1
r
ou
h
oh

u
r
r
c
rh

1
r
ou
r
oh

ou
h
or

u
h
r
7
By eliminating displacements from Eq. (7), the
equation of compatibility is obtained, which is:
o
2
e
rr
oh
2
r
o
2
re
hh

or
2

o
2
rc
rh

oroh
r
oe
rr
or
0 8
The equilibrium equations given in Eq. (5) are satis-
ed with the following denition of the stress function,
F r; h:
r
rr

1
r
oF
or

1
r
2
o
2
F
oh
2
U
r
hh

o
2
F
or
2
U
r
rh

o
2
or oh
F
r
_ _
9
where U is the body force potential.
On the basis of equations of compatibility, stress
strain relations and equilibrium equations given above,
the following dierential equation for plane stress case
which is satised by the stress function F r; h, is ob-
tained
a
22
o
4
F
or
4
2a
26
o
4
F
or
3
oh
2a
12
a
66

1
r
2
o
4
F
or
2
oh
2
2a
16
1
r
3
o
4
F
or oh
3
a
11
1
r
4
o
4
F
oh
4
2a
22
1
r
o
3
F
or
3
2a
13
a
66

1
r
3
o
3
F
or oh
2
2a
16
1
r
4
o
3
F
oh
3
a
11
1
r
2
o
2
F
or
2
2 a
16
a
26

1
r
3
o
2
F
or oh
2 a
11
2a
12
a
66

1
r
4
o
2
F
oh
2
a
11
1
r
3
oF
or
2 a
16
a
26

1
r
4
oF
oh
a
12
a
22

o
2
U
or
2
a
16
a
26

1
r
o
2
U
or oh
a
11
a
12

1
r
2
o
2
U
oh
2
a
11
2a
22
a
12

1
r
oU
or
a
16
a
26

1
r
2
oU
oh
10
where a
16
and a
26
vanish for a body having a angle-ply
layers. After introducing the material properties for the
compliances and substituting them into Eq. (10), the
following non-homogeneous, fourth order dierential
equation is obtained for an orthotropic cylindrical body
for the state of plane stress.
1
E
hh
o
4
F
or
4

1
G
rh
_

2m
rh
E
rr
_
1
r
4
o
4
F
or
2
oh
2

1
E
rr
1
r
4
o
4
F
oh
4

2
E
hh
1
r
o
3
F
or
3

1
G
rh
_
2
m
rh
E
rr
_
1
r
3
o
2
F
or oh

1
E
rr
1
r
2
o
2
F
or
2
2
1 m
r
E
rr
_

1
G
rh
_
1
r
4
o
2
F
oh
2

1
E
rr
1
r
3
oF
or

1 m
hr
E
hh
o
2
U
or
2
_

1 m
rh
E
rr
1
r
2
o
2
U
oh
2
_

2
E
hh
_

1 m
rh
E
rr
_
1
r
oU
or
: 11
2.3. Stresses and displacements for a rotating anisotropic
cylinder
At this point, it is easy to obtain the stress distribu-
tion for an anisotropic rotating cylinder. It is assumed
that the cylinder is orthotropic, so that any radial plane
is an elastic symmetry plane. For a rotating cylinder, the
body force potential is given by:
U
qx
2
2
r
2
12
where x is the angular speed, q is the density of the
material and r is the radial position.
Since the problem is axisymmetric, the stress function
F depends only on r. Using this fact and Eq. (12), Eq.
(11) can be rearranged for the kth layer as follows:
1
E
k
hh
r
4
d
4
F
dr
4

2
E
k
hh
r
3
d
3
F
dr
3

1
E
k
rr
r
2
d
2
F
dr
2

1
E
k
rr
r
dF
dr

3
E
k
hh
_

2m
r
1
E
k
rr
_
qx
2
r
4
13
Eq. (13) is in the form of Eulers equation and its
solution yields the following expression for the stress
function F,
F r A
k
B
k
r
2
C
k
r
1g1
k
D
k
r
1g1
k

q
k
x
2
2
3
_
2m
k
rh
ee
2
k
_
E
k
rr
36E
k
rr
4E
k
hh
r
4
14
where ee
k
E
k
hh
=E
k
rr

1=2
.
Using the stress function F r and the body force
potential U in Eq. (9), the stresses can be obtained as:
L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395 85
The structure is mechanically subjected to a radial
body force due to rotation, internal pressure and axial
force as shown in Fig. 2. Boundary conditions for the
given geometry and loading can be represented as fol-
lows,
For r r
int
) r
1
rr
P
int
and r
1
rh
0
For r r
ext
) r
n
rr
0 and r
n
rh
0
At the interface of adjacent layers, the following
boundary conditions are applied,
r b
k1
) r
k1
rr
r
k
rr
and u
k1
r
u
k
r
When the boundary conditions are applied, two un-
known coecients of the stress function, A
k
and B
k
are
obtained as zero, and other coecients as
C
k

1
1 g
k
b
k
b
g
k
k1
c
g
k
k
c
g
k
k
q
k
_

b
g
k
k
b
12g
k
k1
b
1g
k
k1
c
g
k
k
c
g
k
k

_
c
g
k
k
c
g
k
k
q
k1
q
k
x
2
3 m
k
hr
9 g
2
k
b
g
k
k
b
32g
k
k1
b
3
k
b
g
k
k1
c
g
k
k
c
g
k
k
_
b
3g
k
k1
__
16
D
k

1
1 g
k
q
k1
b
g
k
1
k
q
k
b
g
k
1
k1
_ _
b
k
b
k1
c
g
k
k
c
g
k
k
_
q
k
x
2
3 m
k
hr
9 g
2
k
b
2
k1
b
g
k
1
k
_
b
2
k
b
g
k
1
k1
_
b
k
b
k1
_
17
where c
k
b
k1
=b
k
, g
k
n
k
11
=n
k
22

1=2
and k denotes the
layer number. The reduced strain coecients, n
k
ij
, extend
the plane stress problem into the generalized plane strain
problem as proposed by Lekhnitskii [7]. They can be
dened for a multi-layered cylinder as,
n
k
ij
a
k
ij

a
k
i3
a
k
j3
a
k
33
i; j 1; 2
where a
k
ij
are the components of the compliance tensor in
cylindrical coordinates for the kth layer. Using the stress
function F r, layer stresses can be derived as:
r
k
rr
q
k
x
2
b
2
k
3 m
k
hr
9 g
2
k
_ _
1 c
g
k
3
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
r
b
k
_ _
g
k
1
_

1 c
g
k
3
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
c
g
k
3
k
b
k
r
_ _
g
k
1

r
b
k
_ _
2
_

q
k1
c
g
k
1
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
r
b
k
_ _
g
k
1
_

b
k
r
_ _
g
k
1
_

q
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
c
2g
k
k
b
k
r
_ _
g
k
1
_

r
b
k
_ _
g
k
1
_
18
r
k
hh

q
k
x
2
b
2
k
9 g
2
k
_ _
3
_
_
m
k
hr
_
g
k
1 c
g
k
3
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
r
b
k
_ _
g
k
1
_

1 c
g
k
3
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
c
g
k
3
k
b
k
r
_ _
g
k
1
_
g
2
k
_
3m
k
hr
_
r
b
k
_ _
2
_

q
k1
c
g
k
1
k
g
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
r
b
k
_ _
g
k
1
_

b
k
r
_ _
g
k
1
_

q
k
g
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
r
b
k
_ _
g
k
1
_
c
2g
k
k
b
k
r
_ _
g
k
1
_
19
In Eqs. (18) and (19), symbols q
k1
and q
k
denote the
internal and external forces in radial direction acting on
the kth layer as given in Fig. 3, and m
k
hr
n
k
12
=n
k
22
. Since
the pressure vessel is assumed to be in the state of gen-
eralized plane strain, axial strains of all layers is equal to
the constant, e
0
zz
. Then the axial stress can be obtained as:
r
k
zz

e
0
zz
a
k
33

1
a
k
33
a
k
13
r
k
rr
_
a
k
23
r
k
hh
_
20
The displacements are obtained as follows:
u
k
r
r n
k
12
r
k
rr
_
n
k
22
r
k
hh
m
k
zh
e
0
zz
_
;
u
k
h
0 and u
k
z
ze
0
zz
21
where m
k
zh
a
k
23
=a
k
33
. Fig. 2. Mechanical loading on a closed end cylindrical pressure vessel.
r
k
rr
2B
k
C
k
1
_
ee
k
_
r
ee
k
1
D
k
1
_
ee
k
_
r
ee
k
1
q
k
x
2
3 m
k
hr
9 ee
2
k
_ _
r
2
r
k
hh
2B
k
C
k
1
_
ee
k
_
ee
k
r
ee
k
1
D
k
1
_
ee
k
_
ee
k
r
ee
k
1
q
k
x
2
3m
k
hr
ee
2
k
9 ee
2
k
_ _
r
2
r
k
rh
0
15
86 L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395
For a cylinder with closed ends, the axial equilibrium
is satised by the following relation,

n
k1
2p
_
b
k
b
k1
r
k
zz
r dr pr
2
int
P
int
P
ext
F
A
22
where r
int
is the internal radius of the cylinder. Substi-
tuting Eqs. (18) and (19) for r
k
rr
and r
k
hh
into Eq. (20) for
r
k
zz
and evaluating the integral in Eq. (22), the relation
for e
0
zz
is determined as:
e
0
zz

1
D
P
int
r
2
int
_
_
P
ext
r
2
ext
_

F
A
p

n
k1
q
k1
d
k
_
q
k
l
k
x
2
w
k
_
_
23
where, D

n
k1
b
2
k
b
2
k1
a
k
33
and
d
k

2
a
k
33
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
b
k
c
g
k
1
k
1 g
k
a
k
13
_
_
g
k
a
k
23
_
b
k
c
g
k
k
b
k1

b
k1
1 g
k
a
k
13
_
g
k
a
k
23
_
b
k
c
g
k
k
b
k1

_
l
k

2
a
k
33
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
b
k
1 g
k
a
k
13
_
_
g
k
a
k
23
_
b
k
c
g
k
k
b
k1

b
k
c
g
k
k
1 g
k
a
k
13
_
g
k
a
k
23
_
b
k
c
g
k
k
b
k1

_
w
k

2q
k
b
2
k
3 m
k
hr
_ _
9 g
2
k
a
k
13
a
k
33
_
_

a
k
23
a
k
33
g
k
_

1 c
g
k
3
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
1 g
k

_ _
b
g
k
1
k
b
g
k
1
k1
_
b
2
k
_

a
k
13
a
k
33
_

a
k
23
a
k
33
g
k
_
1 c
g
k
3
k
_ _
c
g
k
3
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
1 g
k

_ _
b
g
k
1
k
b
g
k
1
k1
_
b
2
k
_

a
k
13
a
k
33
_

a
k
23
a
k
33
g
2
k
3m
k
hr
_ _
3 m
k
hr

_

1
4b
2
k
_ _
b
4
k
_
b
4
k1
_
_
At each layer interface, radial displacements of ad-
jacent layers must be continuous, which follows that:
u
k
r
b
k
u
k1
r
b
k
24
Using Eqs. (23) and (24), a set of simultaneous
equations in terms of q
k
, one for each interface, is de-
termined as:
u
k
q
k1
v
k
q
k
g
k
q
k1
x
2
k
k

m
k
zh
m
k1
zh
D
_ _

n
i1
q
i1
d
i
_
_
q
i
l
i
x
2
w
i
_
_

m
k
zh
m
k1
zh
D
_ _
P
int
r
2
int
_
_
P
ext
r
2
ext
_

F
A
p
_
25
where, u
k
2g
k1
n
k1
22
c
g
k1
1
k1
=1 c
2g
k
1
k1

u
k
b
k
12

g
k
b
k
22
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
1 c
2g
k
k
b
k1
12

g
k1
b
k1
22
1 c
2g
k1
k1
_ _
1 c
2g
k1
k1
g
k

2g
k
n
k
12
c
g
k
1
k
1 c
2g
k
k
k
k
b
2
k
q
k
n
k
22
9 g
2
k
g
k
3
_
_ _
m
k
hr
_
1 2c
g
k
3
k
c
2g
k
k
1 c
2g
k
k
_ _
g
2
k
_
3m
k
hr
_
_
b
2
k1
q
k1
n
k1
22
9 g
2
k1
g
k1
3
_
m
k1
hr
_

2c
g
k1
1
k1
c
2g
k1
2
k1
c
2
k1
1 c
2g
k1
k1
_ _
g
2
k1
_
3m
k1
hr
_
c
2
k1
_
Therefore, the unknown interface pressures, q
k
, are
solved by using Eq. (25), which eventually leads to the
complete solution of the elasticity problem.
2.4. Analysis of pressure vessels using thin wall theory
The thickness ratio is dened as the ratio between
external and internal radii of the pressure vessel. For
pressure vessels of thickness ratios less than 1.1, the thin
wall analysis can satisfactorily be used. In this theory,
the radial stress is assumed to be zero in addition to
hoop and axial stresses to be constant through the
thickness. The hoop and the axial stresses of a pressure
vessel subjected to internal and external pressure, and an
axial force can be calculated, respectively, as follows:
r
hh

P
int
P
ext
r
int
t
and
r
zz

P
int
P
ext
r
int
2t

F
A
2pr
int
t
26
where t is the wall thickness of the vessel.
Fig. 3. Multi-layered cylinder showing layer notation.
L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395 87
2.5. Environmental eects on composite materials
The inuence of environmental factors, such as ele-
vated temperature, humidity and corrosive uids must
be taken into consideration since they aect mechanical
and physical properties of composite materials resulting
in a change of the mechanical performance. The eect of
the elevated temperature can be seen in the composite
material properties with a decrease in the modulus
and strength because of thermal softening. Especially
in polymer-based composites, the matrix-dominated
properties are more aected then the ber-dominated
properties. For example, the longitudinal strength and
modulus of a unidirectional composite specimen remain
almost constant but o-axis properties of the same
specimen are signicantly reduced as the temperature
approaches the glass transition temperature of the
polymer. When exposed to humid air or water envi-
ronment, many polymeric matrix composites absorb
moisture by instantaneous surface absorption followed
by diusion through the matrix. Analysis of moisture
absorption shows that for epoxy and polyester matrix
composites, the moisture concentration increases ini-
tially with time and approaches an equilibrium (satu-
ration) level after several days of exposure to humid
environments [2].
The analysis of composites due to elevated tempera-
ture and moisture absorption is called as hygrothermal
problem. It can be solved mainly in three steps: First,
the temperature distribution and the moisture content
inside the material are calculated. Then from known
temperature and moisture distribution, the hygrother-
mal deformations and stresses are calculated. Finally,
the changes in performance due to both aects are
determined. The assumptions used through these steps
are:
temperature and moisture content inside the material
vary only in the thickness direction,
thermal conductivity of the material is independent of
temperature and moisture level,
the environmental conditions (temperature and mois-
ture level) are constant.
The temperature distribution is obtained by using the
one dimensional steady-state heat conduction analy-
sis throughout the body. So for the kth layer, one can
write:
T
k
T
k1
qR
k
27
where q T
int
T
ext
=

n
i1
R
i
and R
k
K
k
=h
k
.
Here T
k
temperature, h
k
thickness and K
k
are the
thermal conductivity of the kth layer, respectively. In
this study, the moisture content is taken as constant and
equal to the saturated moisture level throughout the
material.
2.6. Hygrothermal degradation
In addition to creating stresses, temperature and
moisture degrade the material properties as well. By fol-
lowing the method given by Tsai [2], the non-dimen-
sional temperature T

can be dened as,

T

T
g
T
opr

T
g
T
rm

28
where T
g
is the glass-transition temperature, T
opr
is the
operation temperature and T
rm
is the room temperature.
It is also assumed that the moisture suppresses the glass
transition temperature by a simple moisture shift as,
T
g
T
0
g
gc 29
where T
0
g
is the glass-transition temperature at the dry
state, g is the temperature shift per unit moisture ab-
sorbed and c is the moisture absorption of the structure.
The term T

is used to empirically t the ber and ma-

trix stiness and strength data as functions of both
moisture and temperature.
Using empirical ber and matrix properties, the ply
stiness and strength properties are given here [2], rst
in terms of stiness ratios as
E
11

v
f
v
0
f
T

f
E
0
11
E
22
E
0
22

a
E
0
m
T

b
g
0
y
1
v
f
1
_ _
T

f
E
0
f
_ _
1
1
v
0
f
1
_ _
g
0
y
_ _
E
0
m

1
v
0
f
1
_ _
g
0
y
E
0
f
_ _
1
T

b
v
f
T

b
_ _
T

a
T

f
E
s
E
0
s

g
0
s
T

b
1v
f

v
f
1
_ _
1
G
0
f

g
0
s
1v
0
f

v
0
f
G
0
m
_ _
1
g
0
s
v
0
m
v
0
f
_ _
1
T

f
G
0
f

b
g
0
s
1v
f

v
f
T

b
G
0
m
_ _
30
and strength ratios as
X
X
0

v
f
v
0
f
T

h
X
0
X
00

v
f
v
0
f
T

h
E
s
E
0
s
_ _
e
Y
Y
0

Y
0
Y
00

S
S
0
T

d
31
where g is the mutual inuence coecient and subscripts
f and m denote ber and matrix, respectively. The
constants a, b, d, f and h are determined empirically and
the exponent for example on X
0
denotes the values of
the corresponding property X obtained at room tem-
perature with 0.5% moisture content.
2.7. Hygrothermal stresses
The hygrothermal and mechanical strains can be su-
perposed in strain level to obtain total strains as,
e
tot
ij
e
mech
ij
e
hygr
ij
32
88 L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395
or
e
tot
ij
e
mech
ij
a
ij
DT b
ij
c
where a
ij
and b
ij
are thermal and moisture expansion
coecients, respectively.
Total stresses however, can be obtained using aniso-
tropic stressstrain relations. Total stresses due to hy-
grothermal and mechanical loads can be written as,
r
tot
ij
a
1
e
tot
ij
33
2.8. Failure analysis
The main reason for performing the stress analysis is
to determine the failure behavior of the pressure vessel.
Design of a structure or a component is performed by
comparing stresses (or strains) created by applied loads
with the allowable strength (or strain capacity) of the
material [2]. TsaiHill, TsaiWu [8], Homan [9] and
3D-Quadratic Failure Theories [2] are used in this study
for comparison and it is seen that 3D-Quadratic Failure
Criteria gives the most conservative results for strength.
3. Numerical solution
In order to see how structures behave, the numerical
results are necessary for a given material, geometry and
loading combination. A preliminary design package
program is developed using the derived formulation of
stresses. In order to determine the burst pressure, the
maximum axial force and the maximum angular speed,
the performance (load carrying capacity) of the specied
composite pressure vessel is taken as the only limiting
value. The strength ratio is the ratio between the maxi-
mum or ultimate strength and the applied stress. It must
be slightly larger than one because of the safety reason.
Burst pressure and maximum angular speed are deter-
mined by using the rst-ply failure criterion and maxi-
mum axial force is determined by using the last-ply
failure criterion.
The winding angle obtained by developed computer
program is called as optimum without using any opti-
mization procedure. This is not wrong because only one
constraint is taken into account, which has to be maxi-
mized in this case and all possible solutions are checked
every time to get the winding angle satisfying the con-
straints.
Since the winding angle varies between 0 and 90,
layer stresses are obtained for each angle with a step size
of 0.1. The strength ratios of the worst layers are
compared with each other. Then the angle having the
highest strength ratio is taken as the optimum winding
angle for the specied loading and geometry conditions.
4. Discussion of results
The design outputs of the computer program are
optimum winding angle, burst pressure and maximum
angular speed of the vessel for a given material, geo-
metry and loading combination. Also the aects of axial
force and hygrothermal forces on burst pressure and
angular speed are studied. In each of these analysis, the
material used is a graphite-epoxy composite (T300/
N5208). The properties of the unidirectional laminate of
this material are given in Table 1. Note that the residual
stresses due to material itself are not considered in this
study.
4.1. Optimum winding angle
In literature [5], the optimum winding angle for la-
ment wound composite pressure vessels is given as
54.74 by netting analysis. Using the current procedure
for the internal pressure loading, the optimum winding
angle is obtained as ranging between 52.1 and 54.2
depending on geometry and failure criteria used. 3D-
Quadratic Failure Criterion always gives greater opti-
mum winding angle than other theories, because the
circumferential stress or strain is more eective in this
criterion. If angular speed is applied at the same time
with the internal pressure, the optimum winding angle
values obtained for the pure internal pressure case are
increased and shifted to 90.
4.2. Stress distribution
The stress distribution through the thickness of a
lament wound vessel is not uniform but varying de-
pending on the geometry and loading. The stress graphs
for pure internal pressure and pure angular speed cases
with a constant winding angle of 53, are given in Figs. 4
and 5, respectively. The symbols a and b represent
Table 1
Properties of unidirectional laminate (T300/N5208)
Elastic modulus in ber direction (GPa) 181
Elastic modulus in matrix direction (GPa) 10.3
In plane shear modulus (GPa) 7.17
Major Poissons ratio 0.28
Ultimate tensile strength in ber direction (MPa) 1500
Ultimate compressive strength in ber direction (MPa) 1500
Ultimate tensile strength in matrix direction (MPa) 40
Ultimate compressive strength in matrix direction (MPa) 146
Ultimate in-plane shear strength (MPa) 68
Thermal expansion coecient in ber direction (10
6
/C) 0.02
Thermal expansion coecient in matrix direction (10
6
/C) 22.5
Moisture expansion coecient in ber direction 0
Moisture expansion coecient in matrix direction 0.6
Thermal conductivity normal to the thickness direction
(W/m per C)
0.865
L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395 89
internal and external radii of the tube, respectively. The
stresses are normalized with the values of thin-wall so-
lution. In Fig. 4, the results for radial stresses and to
some degree with hoop stresses are similar with the ones
of Ref. [5]. However, the axial stress distributions show
a considerable dierence. The errors in the formulation
of Ref. [5] would be a reason for the dierence; another
reason might be originated from the fact that a variable
winding angle (5456) was considered in Ref. [5], con-
trary to the constant winding angle used in the current
study.
As it can be seen in Fig. 5, the thin-wall analysis gives
only an average result. When thickness increases, the
thick-wall analysis has to be used, instead. Radial stress
is zero at the inside and outside of the pressure vessel
and positive through the thickness. Its maximum value
is approximately at the mid-point of the thickness.
When the wall thickness is increased, the layer having
maximum radial stress becomes closer to the inner
boundary of the pressure vessel. Larger circumferential
and axial stresses are obtained at the inner layers of the
vessel. In Fig. 5, it is seen that axial stress always
changes sign at the point where the radial stress reaches
to a maximum.
4.3. Thick- and thin-walled solutions for burst pressure
The corresponding burst pressure values are obtained
using an iterative procedure where the loading is in-
creased until the failure of a single layer. In Fig. 6, the
burst pressure, P
burst
, by using both thin and thick-wal-
led solution techniques are plotted versus winding angle.
The burst pressure is normalized with that of 0 winding
angle. For the thin-wall tube, both thick and thin-wall
Fig. 4. Radial, axial and circumferential stress distributions for pure internal pressure.
90 L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395
solutions predict almost the same burst pressure. Actu-
ally, since the thin-wall solution neglects the radial
stress, burst pressure values obtained with the thin-
walled analysis are slightly higher than those obtained
with thick-walled analysis. The agreement between these
two solutions is satised except for the values near the
Fig. 5. Radial, axial and circumferential stress distributions for pure angular speed.
Fig. 6. Variation of burst pressure with increasing winding angle [r
ext
=r
int
1:05].
L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395 91
optimum winding angle where they dier for thick and
thin-wall solutions.
For a thick pressure vessel (Fig. 7), there is a signif-
icant dierence between thin-wall and thick-wall solu-
tions especially near the optimum winding angle. In this
wall thickness value (r
ext
=r
int
1:40), the thick-wall so-
lution gives higher burst pressure than the thin-wall
solution between angles 48 and 64.
To check the limiting value of the thin-wall solution
on the wall thickness, burst pressures are calculated for
increasing wall thickness Thin-wall and thick-wall so-
lutions yield very similar burst pressure values up to the
thickness ratio of r
ext
=r
int
1:1. For thicknesses with
r
ext
=r
int
P1:1, the deviation between thick and thin-wall
solutions becomes larger (Fig. 8).
4.4. Eect of angular speed and axial force on burst
pressure
The eect of angular speed and axial force on the
burst pressure can be seen in Fig. 9. The burst pressure
decreases with angular speed, when the winding angle is
less than its optimum value. It is not an expected result,
since the burst pressure increases with the speed for
angles greater than the optimum winding angle. The
burst pressure increases in negligible amount for in-
creasing axial tensile force for angles smaller than the
optimum winding angle. If the winding angle of the
structure is larger than its optimum value, the burst
pressure always decreases with increasing axial force.
4.5. Maximum angular speed
The eect of wall thickness and winding angle on the
maximum angular speed can be seen in Fig. 10. If only
angular speed is applied, the optimum winding angle is
obtained as ranging between 81 and 83 depending on
the wall thickness of the structure. For small winding
angles up to 30, the thin and thick-wall constructions
give almost the same maximum angular speed. As the
wall thickness increases, the maximum angular speed
decreases opposite to the case of burst pressure. It is an
expected result, since an increasing wall thickness means
more inertia that aects the speed in the negative sense.
4.6. Hygrothermal stresses and strains
Hygrothermal stresses in the macro-mechanical level
calculated by using the laminated plate theory. In order
to assess the eects of residual stresses on the failure of
Fig. 7. Variation of burst pressure with increasing winding angle [r
ext
=r
int
1:4].
Fig. 8. Burst pressure for increasing wall thickness.
92 L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395
composite materials, the hygrothermal expansion coef-
cients have to be determined correctly. As a sample
calculation of hygrothermal stresses, the data given in
Table 2 for T300/N5208 [2] is used where DF is the
degradation factor.
Since the curing temperature is the stress free state for
composite materials, the operation temperature aects
the failure of the composite depending on whether it is
below or above the curing temperature. If the operation
temperature is less than zero or if it is less than the
curing temperature, the burst pressure is increased since
the thermal strains and mechanical strains for pure in-
ternal pressure case work in opposite senses. It should be
pointed out that, the negative temperature for constant
moisture content also cause an increase in the mechan-
ical properties of the composite material. It can be
concluded that if the operation temperature is less
than the curing temperature, burst pressure is increased.
If operation temperature is greater than the curing
Fig. 9. Eect of angular speed and axial force on burst pressure [r
ext
=r
int
1:05].
Fig. 10. Maximum angular velocity versus winding angle.
Table 2
Hygrothermal eects on burst pressure [r
ext
=r
int
1:05, a 53]
T
opr
(C) 22 22 122 122 122
c (%) 0 0 0 0 1
DF (%) 0 0 0 10 30
P
burst
(MPa) 18.3 20.3 16.3 14.4 12.1
L. Parnas, N. Katrc / Composite Structures 58 (2002) 8395 93
temperature, however, both thermal and mechanical
strains have a cumulative eect. This can be seen as a
decrease in burst pressure values in Fig. 11.
Although, the performance of the composite material
is negatively inuenced by the presence of moisture, it
creates less residual strains compared with the thermal
ones and does not change the burst pressure, signi-
cantly.
5. Conclusion
An analytical procedure is developed to assess the
behavior of a cylindrical composite structure under
loading conditions particular to a rocket motor case.
Available loading conditions are internal pressure, axial
force and body force due to rotation. Additionally,
temperature and moisture variations throughout the
body are considered in the analysis. The procedure is
based on the classical laminated plate theory. It models
the plane strain state of the cylindrical body, which
consists of a number of cylindrical sub-layers.
The cylindrical pressure vessel is analyzed using two
approaches, which are thin wall and thick wall solutions.
It is shown that for composite pressure vessels with a
ratio of outer to inner radius, up to 1.1, two approaches
give similar results in terms of the optimum winding
angle, the burst pressure, etc. As the ratio increases, the
thick wall analysis is required.
The optimum winding angle for the thick-wall pres-
sure vessel analysis with the pure internal pressure
loading case is obtained as ranging between 52.1 and
54.1 degrees depending on the material type. If the an-
gular speed is applied at the same time with the internal
pressure, optimum winding angle values obtained for
the pure internal pressure case are shifted towards
90. The inuence of the axial force is, however, opposite
to the one of the angular speed. The addition of the axial
force has a decreasing eect on the winding angle.
The burst pressure value is greatly depends on the
analysis type used. The deviation between thin and
thick-wall solutions is quite large especially near the
optimum winding angle. As the wall thickness is in-
creased, the thick-wall solution gives almost 30% higher
burst pressure values. Therefore, the thin-wall analysis is
said to be an average but a safe analysis.
If angular speed is applied, the maximum stress
occurs in the hoop direction. The optimum winding
angle of the analyzed body for this type of loading is
obtained as ranging between 81 and 83. The value of
the maximum angular speed that the system can be ro-
tated is greatly aected by the thickness of the pressure
vessel.
Hygrothermal eects are analyzed in this study in two
levels. The eect of temperature and moisture to the
performance of the materials is determined by using the
micromechanics of the composite materials. By taking a
linear variation of temperature and constant value for
moisture content throughout the body, hygrothermal
stresses and strains are determined. Since the thermal
and moisture expansion coecients of the materials
have to be determined experimentally, always some
amount of error is expected in these calculations.
If the material has a tendency of expanding due to a
positive temperature dierence, the increasing operating
temperature is shown to reduce the mechanical perfor-
mance of the system.
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