High-Pressure Tank Surface Resin Layer Crack Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional high-pressure tanks experience sudden gas release and noise due to surface resin layer breakage under increased pressure, and the use of solvents to prevent this can deteriorate the tank's quality.
Innovation Solution
A method involving local heating of the uncured fiber-reinforced resin layer to form a surface resin layer with cracks, followed by complete heating to cure the resin, allowing controlled gas release without solvent application, thereby preventing sudden surface resin layer failure and maintaining tank quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a surface resin layer is formed to block gas permeation, then gas barrier property is improved, but the surface resin layer may break under pressure causing sudden gas release and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The surface resin layer is designed with a porous structure containing numerous cracks that allow gas to permeate through gradually. This porous structure prevents sudden gas release by providing multiple escape paths, eliminating the harmful effect of abrupt gas release and noise while maintaining effective gas barrier functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical structure of the surface resin layer by controlling the curing process to form cracks. By adjusting the curing temperature and time parameters, the resin layer develops a controlled porous structure that allows gradual gas permeation, transforming the layer from a potential failure point into a pressure-relief mechanism.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a solvent is applied to create porous structure in surface resin layer, then sudden gas release is suppressed, but the quality of the high-pressure tank deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the chemical method (solvent application) with a thermal method (heat treatment). By applying heat to the uncured surface resin layer, the resin cures and contracts, naturally forming cracks without requiring solvent permeation. This substitution eliminates the quality deterioration caused by solvent use while achieving the desired porous structure for gradual gas release.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the phase transition of the thermosetting resin from uncured to cured state during heat treatment. This phase transition causes volume contraction and stress development that naturally creates cracks in the surface resin layer, forming the porous structure needed for gradual gas permeation without affecting tank quality.
3Strength
If the fiber-reinforced resin layer is entirely cured, then structural strength is improved, but gas permeation through the layer may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the curing process into two stages: first curing the fiber-reinforced resin layer to provide structural strength, then separately treating the surface resin layer to create a porous structure. This segmentation allows the bulk material to maintain high strength while the surface layer provides controlled gas permeation pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different properties to different parts of the tank structure. The fiber-reinforced resin layer is fully cured to provide high strength, while the surface resin layer is selectively treated to create a porous structure for gas permeation. This local differentiation of material properties allows simultaneous achievement of strength and controlled gas release.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method suppresses sudden gas release and noise from surface resin layer breakage while maintaining the tank's quality by allowing controlled gas permeation through cracks in the surface resin layer, eliminating the need for solvent application.
Implementation Method 1
the uncured fiber-reinforced resin layer is locally heated at a first temperature, so that a thermosetting resin leaches out of the heated region of the uncured fiber-reinforced resin layer
Implementation Method 2
the high-pressure tank is entirely heated at a second temperature lower than the first temperature, so that the fiber-reinforced resin layer and the surface resin layer containing the thermosetting resin that has leached out of the entire fiber-reinforced resin layer are entirely cured
Implementation Method 3
gas that has filled the liner permeates through the liner over time. Meanwhile, since the surface resin layer has a gas blocking function, the gas that has permeated through the liner is blocked by the surface resin layer
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a high-pressure tank capable of suppressing break of a surface resin layer due to gas pressure as well as degradation in the tank quality. The method includes winding a thermosetting resin-impregnated fiber bundle around a liner so as to form an uncured fiber-reinforced resin layer thereon, first heating in which the uncured fiber-reinforced resin layer is locally heated at a first temperature so as to leach the thermosetting resin out of the uncured fiber-reinforced resin layer to form the surface resin layer, and the surface resin layer is cured to have cracks generated therein, and second heating in which the tank is entirely heated at a second temperature lower than the first temperature, so that the fiber-reinforced resin layer and surface resin layer are entirely cured, so as to obtain the tank with the surface resin layer locally having cracks generated therein.