Analysis of fiber glass/vinyl ester composite subjected to internal pressure loading for compressed natural gas tube type IV application

Abstract

Natural gas in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) has a pressure of 20 MPa. Glass fiber/vinyl ester composite has potential to be formed into a CNG tube. This study uses a numerical analysis method to assess the composite's ability to withstand internal pressure according to Hill failure criteria. Some mechanical properties of the composite were obtained from tensile test of composite with fiber direction of 0°, 45°, and 90°. The fiber direction and suitable number of layers were evaluated. It was found that the combination of large and small winding angles of (±70, ±25) provided more optimal result than using a single angle. Still, the composite is deemed unsuitable as the material of CNG tube type IV. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.