The Mechanical Testing of Composite Shell Material of Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel

Composite overwrapped pressure vessels are widely used in modern space structures, such as communications satellites, providing the highest weight efficiency and durability. The high significance of these structures brings to the fore the problems of strength and reliability of composite overwrapped pressure vessels. This requires the use of advanced techniques for strength analysis, including numerical modeling and material testing. The pressure vessel discussed in this paper is manufactured by continuous winding of carbon-epoxy fibrous tapes over a titanium liner thus forming a composite shell with varying mechanical properties. The paper presents an approach to experimental evaluation of mechanical properties of the composite shell, including cutting scheme, specimen preparation and testing procedures. The three-point bending and tensile tests allowed assessing the elastic modulus of the composite material along and across the fibers and ultimate strength.