Risk analysis of CNG composite pressure vessel via computer-aided method and fractography

As environmental issues threaten the widespread use of fossil fuels, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles are explored as an alternative to the conventional gasoline powered vehicles. CNG vehicles have to be equipped with safe and reliable storage tanks, such as composite pressure vessels, since the failure of the CNG storage tank can lead to passenger fatalities and injuries. The most probable causes of failure of the CNG vehicles are fire and vessel fracture. In this research, the cause of vessel failure is investigated through formal inspection and engineering test procedures. Specifically, the failure mechanism will be identified by fractography, and the material properties of a reference part will be investigated through the instrumented indentation technique. Moreover, the composite pressure vessel design will be validated using the finite element method. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.