Thin-walled tapered conformable low-pressure tanks: Concept and principles

Abstract

In pressure tank design, structural efficiency or the ratio of pressurized volume to structural mass is fundamental and implies a specific shape, such as a cylindrical or spherical layout. However, this axi-symmetric layout may be not conform to the enveloping shape. Previous investigations developed a conformable tank concept with a multi-bubble axi-symmetric layout, called a multi-lobe, multi-cell or multi-bubble tank, but structural design and analysis are limited to intersecting cylindrical, spherical or toroidal shells. The objective of this research is to increase the volumetric efficiency of multi-bubble tanks even further through the introduction of a conical shell. An integral analytical formulation of tank topology and explicit expression of equilibrium are provided in order to design a structurally efficient tapered multi-bubble tank under low differential pressure. The result is expressed in a geometric rule that is applicable for tapered multi-bubble tanks of any eligible shape.