Design of microcracking resistant composite for linerless pressure vessels used in aerospace applications

CHURRUCA MARÍA JOSÉ; RODRIGUEZ EXEQUIEL SANTOS; LEIVA PABLO HERNÁN; MORÁN JUAN IGNACION

Mar del Plata

Simposio; XVI Latin-American Polymer Symposium (SLAP); 2018

The aerospace industry has started to develop pressure vessels made 100% with carbon reinforced composite materials (type V or linerless)1. These vessels are used for containing pressurizing gases in space rockets, and they can replace metallic tanks (type I), metal overwrapped tanks (type II) and even polymer liner overwrapped tanks (type IV), with considerable weight saving, which in turn produces an increase in the payload. However, in absence of a liner that could acts as a barrier for the high pressure contained gases, permeation can takes place through the composite microcraks. This phenomenon has been discussed extensively in the literature2, but still have not been found tools for determining which properties are needed in the polymer matrix and the composite for minimizing microcraking. In this work, polymer matrices were modified in order to obtain different mechanical and physicochemical properties, and the curve microcrack density vs. strain was obtained for 0/90/0 carbon reinforced laminates. New microcraking resistant composite materials were obtained.