Reliability design of a pressure vessel made of composite materials

The focus of this research is to evaluate the reliability of pressure vessels made of composite materials (carbon and glass fiber) with respect to stress and burst pressure. Small thicknesses theory was adopted to sizing the components. The geometry was verified through FEM analyses. To compare the results, also pressure vessel, made of steel and aluminum alloy, were studied. The reliability of the components and the deterministic safety coefficients were evaluated considering the variability of geometric characteristics, the materials properties and the number of layers wrapped. From the results, it emerges that the weight of pressure vessel made of carbon fibers is equal to 17% to the one made of steel, that the relationship between deterministic coefficient and reliability is highly non-linear and the reliability of the components made of composite materials, are similar to those made of steel or aluminum alloy.