MATERIALS DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING ULTRA-LIGHT COMPOSITE PRESSURE VESSELS FOR AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS

P. H. LEIVA; J. I. MORAN; E. S. RODRIGUEZ; M. J. CHURRUCA

Bahía Blanca

Conferencia; VII International Conference on Science and Technology of Composite Materials (COMAT); 2018

PLAPIQUI - CONICET - UNS

In the recent years, big efforts have being conducted in order to reduce the cost to access to space, for example, by designing low cost launch vehicles . The cost of launching payloads can be reduced if the weight of the rockets is reduced and the manufacturing processes are optimized. The use of lighter materials with better performance is one of the most important strategies for reducing weight in space rockets. In this work, the design and selection of new fiber reinforced composite materials for manufacturing ultra-light pressure vessels is described. The use of ultra-light composite pressure vessels can represent weight saving of almost 50% comparing with all metal tanks.