Damage in Thermoplastic Composite Structures: Application to High Pressure Hydrogen Storage Vessels

Abstract

The design of reinforced laminated composites for type IV high pressure vessels application takes into account the initial mechanical properties of the material including safety coefficients but without any consideration with durability and damage resistance. This study focuses on the different damages occurring in carbon fibres/polyamide matrix composite structures with the objective to understand their influence on the mechanical properties and then the conception and manufacturing process of composite structures. The first part is dedicated to the characterization of the material and particularly its initial thermal and mechanical properties. Then, considering the different orientations of the filamentary wounded structure, damage processes are investigated (matrix cracking, delamination). In addition, first results of a dedicated filamentary winding process are presented. The influence of the key parameters is assessed.