Containers for holding hydrogen and / or helium

Abstract

A container for containing hydrogen and / or helium, comprising an outer shell and a hollow interior space, wherein the hollow interior space is suitable for receiving hydrogen and / or helium, and the outer shell comprises a plurality of outer shell panels, each panel comprising layers of metal foil (201, 202), the layers of metal foil sandwiched between a first layer (203) of unidirectional fibers embedded in a cured resin matrix and a second layer (204) of unidirectional fibers embedded in a cured resin matrix, the second layer of unidirectional fibers oriented at an angle to the first layer of unidirectional fibers.

Claims

1. A container for containing hydrogen and / or helium, comprising an outer shell and a hollow interior space, wherein the hollow interior space is suitable for receiving hydrogen and / or helium, and the outer shell comprises a plurality of outer shell panels, each outer shell panel comprising a layer of metal foil, the layer of metal foil sandwiched between a first layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in a cured resin matrix and a second layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in a cured resin matrix, the second layer of unidirectional fibers oriented at an angle to the first layer of unidirectional fibers.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the metal foil is the outermost layer of the outer shell panel.

3. The container according to claim 2, wherein the outer shell panel comprises an outermost layer of metal foil and an innermost layer of metal foil, and the metal foil has layers of the cured resin and fibers sandwiched between them.

4. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein an additional metal foil is sandwiched between a first layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in the cured resin matrix and a second layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in the cured resin matrix.

5. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one pair of adjacent outer shell panels abut each other to form a continuous outer shell region having a joint line between them, and at least one additional outer shell panel is arranged to cover the innermost and / or outermost surface of the joint line.

6. The container according to claim 5, wherein the adjacent outer panels have a bonding region adjacent to the bonding line, and there is no layer of metal foil therein.

7. The container according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the at least one additional outer shell panel does not have an innermost layer of metal foil.

8. The container according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein each joining region extends from the joining line to a length of 5 to 50 times the thickness of the outer shell panel outside the joining region.

9. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one pair of adjacent outer shell panels overlap each other to form a continuous outer shell region having an overlapping region, and at least one additional outer shell panel is arranged to cover the overlapping region.

10. The container according to claim 9, wherein a portion of the metal foil of one or both of the adjacent outer panels is removed in the overlapping region.

11. The container according to claim 9 or 10, wherein at least one additional outer shell panel does not have an innermost layer of metal foil.

12. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each outer shell panel has a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm, preferably 0.5 to 2 mm.

13. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the metal foil is aluminum foil.

14. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the metal foil has a thickness of 0.5 to 200 microns, preferably 5 to 40 microns.

15. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume of the cured resin matrix is ​​15 to 100%, preferably 30 to 70%, of the volume of the unidirectional fibers.

16. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the angle between the first layer of unidirectional fibers and the second layer of unidirectional fibers is at least 10°, preferably at least 25°, and more preferably 45 to 90°.

17. The unidirectional fibers are carbon fibers or Kevlar (trademark). The container according to any one of the preceding claims.

18. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first layer of unidirectional fibers and the second layer of unidirectional fibers each have a fiber weight of 30 to 500 grams / square meter.

19. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cured layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in the cured resin matrix has a gas porosity e of less than 5 volume%, preferably less than 1 volume%.

20. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is a balloon, and its hollow internal space is suitable for receiving a gas lighter than air in such a way that the balloon can float in the air.

21. The container according to claim 20, wherein the main body is an elongated hollow body having a length that extends between the upper end and the lower end when in use.

22. The container according to claim 21, wherein the elongated body has a horizontal cross section that is airfoil-shaped at each point along its substantially entire length when the upper end is substantially vertically positioned above the lower end during use, and provides a leading edge and a trailing edge extending between the upper end and the lower end, between them defining a chord line having a chord length between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the cross section for each horizontal cross section.

23. A method for manufacturing a container shell or component thereof according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising forming a shell panel by laminating a layer of metal foil, a first layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in an uncured resin matrix, and a second layer of unidirectional fibers embedded in an uncured resin matrix, wherein the second layer of unidirectional fibers is oriented at an angle to the first layer of unidirectional fibers, is brought into contact with each other, and then cures the resin by exposing it to high temperature and optionally high pressure to manufacture the shell or component thereof.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the outer shell panels are cured individually and then joined together in their cured forms.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the curing is performed in an autoclave.

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