JP2011163354A - Resin liner and high-pressure gas tank having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce fiber winding for reinforcement and to secure strength in outer circumference of a dome of a joining portion with a cylinder. <P>SOLUTION: There is provided a high-pressure tank 10 reinforced by a resin liner 20 covered with a fiber reinforcement layer 30, wherein a dome 24 formed in a spherical shape is jointed to both sides of a cylinder 22 formed in a cylindrical shape, and a recessed portion 25 sunk in the axial direction of the tank to the diametrically expanding side of the dome 24 on the joint portion with the cylinder 22 is fitted and installed with a reinforced annular body 26 in the resin liner 20. The reinforced annular body 26 has superior strength compared with a resin used for forming liners, and secures the strength of the joining portion with the cylinder. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a high-pressure gas tank in which a fiber reinforced resin layer is formed on a resin liner and the outer periphery of the liner.

  In recent years, vehicles that are driven by combustion energy of fuel gas or electric energy generated by electrochemical reaction of fuel gas have been developed. Fuel gas such as natural gas or hydrogen is stored in the high-pressure gas tank, May be mounted on a vehicle. For this reason, weight reduction of a high-pressure gas tank is required, and a liner coated with carbon fiber reinforced plastic or glass fiber reinforced plastic (hereinafter collectively referred to as a fiber reinforced resin layer) is a resin liner. It is being considered. In order to extend the vehicle cruising distance per gas filling into the tank, it is necessary to fill the tank at high pressure and increase the tank capacity. Reinforcement is required.

  In general, the fiber reinforced resin layer is formed by winding a fiber impregnated with a thermosetting resin around the outer periphery of the liner by a filament winding method, and in the cylindrical dome portion of the resin liner, the fiber winding is performed by a hoop winding locus. In the spherical dome portions at both ends of the dome portion, the fiber is wound along a helical winding locus. This helical winding employs a high-angle helical winding that wraps around the dome at the outer periphery of the dome at the junction with the cylinder, and a low-angle helical winding that wraps around the dough at both ends of the cylinder. Has been. Further, the hoop winding and the high-angle helically wound fiber constitute a key for reinforcement in the tank circumferential direction, and the low-angle helically wound fiber constitutes a key for reinforcement in the tank axial direction.

  High-angle helically wound fibers have a lower resistance to forces acting in the tank circumferential direction than hoop-wrapped fibers, so the number of high-angle helically wound fibers on the outer periphery of the dome at the junction with the cylinder is increased. A technique for improving the strength is proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-307947 A

  In this patent document, a liner made of light metal such as aluminum is used, and a winding auxiliary member of the same kind of material as the liner is installed on the outer periphery of the dome portion at the joining portion with the cylinder portion, so that the number of windings of the helical wound fiber is increased. ing. When this method is applied to a resin liner, the number of windings of the high-angle helically wound fiber for reinforcement is remarkably increased due to the above-described demand for thinning the liner. An increase in the number of windings of the fiber around the outer periphery of the liner results in expansion of the outer shell of the tank. When installing a tank in a vehicle or installing a tank in a gas consuming facility, the size of the tank shell is usually specified for the convenience of tank mounting space and tank installation space. The larger the volume, the smaller the tank volume and the shorter the vehicle cruising distance and the shorter the gas consumption time.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to achieve both reduction of reinforcing fiber winding and securing of strength on the outer periphery of the dome portion at the joint portion with the cylinder portion.

  In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

[Application 1: Resin liner]
A resin liner for a high-pressure gas tank,
Spherical dome parts are joined to both sides of the cylindrical cylinder part.
The dome portion defines a region including a joint portion with the cylinder portion by an inner wall located on the inner side of the outer surface of the spherical shape, and a material having higher strength than the resin used for liner formation is used for the partitioned portion. The main point is to have a reinforced annular body.

  In the resin liner having the above configuration, the strength of the joint portion is secured by itself having the partition portion of the region including the joint portion with the cylinder portion, and accordingly, the portion is wound around the outer periphery of the liner for reinforcement of the joint portion. The number of turns of the reinforcing fiber to be turned can be reduced. Therefore, even if the tank outline of the high-pressure gas tank is restricted due to the convenience of its mounting space or installation space, the outline of the resin liner can be increased by the smaller number of windings of the reinforcing fiber. By the way, the resin-made liner reduces the internal volume of the dome portion by the amount of the dome portion in the partition portion partitioned by the inner wall located on the inner side of the outer surface of the spherical shape. In addition, since the liner can be thinned in the cylinder portion after the liner outline is enlarged, the inner volume of the entire liner, that is, the tank inner volume can be maintained or expanded.

  The above-mentioned resin liner can be in the following mode. For example, the outer shape of the reinforcing annular body that contacts the outside of the tank may be the spherical shape, and the reinforcing annular body may be disposed in the partition portion. In this way, when the reinforcing fiber is wound around the reinforcing annular body in the manufacturing process of the high-pressure gas tank, the outer shape of the reinforcing annular body is a spherical shape, so that the winding of the reinforcing fiber is not hindered. It can be suppressed and the appearance can be suppressed.

  In this case, the partition part is defined as a recessed part that is recessed around the tank axis on the diameter-enlarged side of the dome part at the joint part, and the reinforcing annular body is separated from the diameter-reduced side of the dome part. It is possible to fit in the depressed portion, and this is convenient.

  Further, the reinforcing annular body can be embedded and installed in the partition portion of the resin-made dome portion through insert molding at the time of forming the liner. The shape can be easily maintained in a spherical shape, and the fiber winding can be prevented from being hindered.

[Application 2: High-pressure gas tank]
A high pressure gas tank,
The gist is that a fiber reinforced resin layer impregnated with a thermosetting resin is provided on the outer periphery of any of the above resin liners through fiber winding by a filament winding method.

  In this high-pressure gas tank, high strength and volume expansion can be achieved after the fiber winding at the dome portion joining portion of the joining portion with the cylinder portion is refrained. Moreover, at the dome joint area, it is possible to resist the force in the circumferential direction of the dunk with the reinforcing annular body, so that the high-angle helical winding that has been conventionally wound is omitted and the strength is secured by the low-angle helical winding. Can also be achieved.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the high pressure gas tank 10 as an Example of this invention in cross-sectional view roughly. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a main part of the high-pressure gas tank 10. FIG. It is a manufacturing procedure figure which shows a tank manufacturing process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of an annular body set. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the fiber winding by FW method. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the advantage of the obtained high-pressure gas tank. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 and an enlarged view showing a main part of a high-pressure gas tank 10A of another embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an enlarged main part of a high-pressure gas tank 10B according to another embodiment, corresponding to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an enlarged main part of a high-pressure gas tank 10C according to a modified example, corresponding to FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a high-pressure gas tank 10 as an embodiment of the present invention in a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged main part of the high-pressure gas tank 10.

  As illustrated, the high-pressure gas tank 10 includes a resin liner 20 and a fiber reinforced resin layer 30. The resin liner 20 is formed by molding a liner part divided into two at the center in the longitudinal direction of the tank with an appropriate resin such as nylon resin, and joining the liner parts of the molded product. A spherical dome portion 24 is joined to both sides of the cylinder portion 22. The resin liner 20 is provided with metal tank fittings 12 and 14 at the top of the dome portion 24, and a depression formed around the tank axis on the enlarged diameter side of the dome portion 24 at the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22. The region 25 is provided with a reinforcing annular body 26. The depressed portion 25 corresponds to a partitioned portion defined by two inner walls located inside the outer surface of the spherical shape of the dome portion in a region including a joint portion with the cylinder portion 22. Both the tank fittings described above are used for inserting a rotating shaft in the case of fiber winding described later, and one tank fitting 12 is also used for a base connection (not shown) for pipe connection.

  The reinforcing annular body 26 is a separate body from the resin liner 20 and is formed to have an outer shape that forms a part of the constant-tensile curved surface that is the spherical shape of the dome portion 24. In the present embodiment, the reinforcing annular body 26 is formed in advance separately from the resin liner 20 from a resin composite material that is a material having higher strength than the resin (nylon-based resin) used for liner formation, or a metal material such as aluminum or iron. In a tank manufacturing process described later, the resin liner 20 is fitted and attached to the depressed portion 25. The reinforcing annular body 26 can be formed on a metal annular material through machining such as turning. When a resin composite material is used, short fiber glass fibers or carbon fibers are mixed in the resin as fillers. The reinforcing annular body 26 is obtained by molding. The reinforced annular body 26 thus obtained has higher strength than the resin liner 20 using a resin (nylon resin). The resin liner 20 can also be formed from a polyethylene resin. Even in this case, the reinforcing annular body 26 has higher strength than the resin liner 20.

  The fiber reinforced resin layer 30 is formed by winding a fiber reinforced resin layer impregnated with a thermosetting resin around the liner outer periphery by a filament winding method (hereinafter referred to as FW method). As will be described later, fiber winding by hoop winding is performed. And subsequent fiber winding by low-angle helical winding. As shown in FIG. 2, at the outer periphery of the cylinder portion 22 in the resin liner 20, fiber winding is first performed by hoop winding, so that the cylinder outer periphery range becomes the hoop layer range, and the outer surface of the dome portion 24 (isotonic curved surface). On the surface), fiber winding is performed by helical winding at a low angle following hoop winding, and the outer surface area of the dome part becomes the helical layer area. In this case, on the outer periphery of the cylinder portion 22, fibers are wound so that the outer periphery of the cylinder portion intersects the tank central axis in the low-angle helical winding performed after the hoop winding. In addition, the wound fibers at the time of helical winding overlap. In forming the fiber reinforced resin layer 30, an epoxy resin is generally used as a thermosetting resin, but a thermosetting resin such as a polyester resin or a polyamide resin can be used. Further, as a reinforcing fiber (sliver fiber) wound around the liner outer periphery by the FW method, glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, or the like is used, and a plurality of types (for example, glass fiber and carbon fiber) FW method. By sequentially performing the winding, the fiber reinforced resin layer 30 can be formed by laminating resin layers made of different fibers.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the high-pressure gas tank 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a manufacturing procedure diagram showing a tank manufacturing process, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of an annular body set, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of fiber winding by the FW method.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, a resin liner 20 is prepared (step S100). The liner preparation is performed not only by forming a liner by a mold in a mold forming process other than the tank production line but also by carrying in a line of a previously formed resin liner. In this case, the prepared resin liner 20 already has a depressed portion 25 in which the dome portion diameter-expanded side at the junction portion with the cylinder portion 22 is depressed around the tank axis, and tank fittings (tank fittings in the figure). 12 is also installed on the top of the dome.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the formed reinforcing annular body 26 is fitted and attached to the resin liner 20 thus prepared (step S110). That is, the reinforcing annular body 26 is fitted and attached to the depressed portion 25 from the reduced diameter side (top side) of the dome portion 24. By this fitting and mounting, the outer surface of the dome portion 24 and the outer surface of the reinforcing annular body 26 are connected at the dome portion 24 from the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22 to the tank fitting attachment portion (top side) and are continuously curved with constant tension. Will be formed. In this embodiment, since the depressed portion 25 includes the joint portion between the cylinder portion 22 and the dome portion 24 and extends slightly toward the cylinder side in the tank axial direction, the reinforcing annular body 26 has the above-described joint portion. Including overhang on the cylinder side.

  Following the mounting of the reinforcing annular body 26, fiber winding by the FW method is performed to form the fiber reinforced resin layer 30 (step S120). That is, the tank metal fitting 12 and the tank metal fitting 14 on both sides of the tank are engaged with the rotation shaft of the FW device (not shown), and the resin liner 20 is pivotally supported so as to rotate around the tank central axis AX. Then, while the resin liner 20 is rotated around the tank center axis AX, the fiber is wound by the FW method as shown in FIG. In this FW method, when the fiber is fed from the reel 35 on which the carbon fiber 31 is wound, a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin is impregnated in the carbon fiber 31 in advance, and then the reel 35 is moved in the tank axial direction. The reel movement to be performed and the liner rotation described above are performed, and the carbon fiber 31 is wound around the outer periphery of the liner while being fed from the reel 35. In the present embodiment, first, fiber winding by hoop winding is repeatedly executed by the FW method over the outer peripheral range of the cylinder portion 22 by adjusting the reel moving speed and the liner rotating speed (see FIG. 5A). 2), a hoop layer is formed on the outer periphery of the cylinder portion 22 as shown in FIG. In this case, the speed adjustment described above is adjusted so that the angle formed by the tank center axis AX of the cylinder portion 22 and the winding fiber is a substantially vertical winding angle. The “winding angle” described above means an angle of the carbon fiber 31 in the fiber direction with respect to the winding direction of the carbon fiber 31 (moving direction of the reel 35).

Next, by repeatedly adjusting the reel moving speed and the liner rotating speed, the fiber winding by the low-angle helical winding is repeatedly executed by the FW method so that the carbon fiber 31 is passed over the dome parts 24 at both ends of the cylinder part 22. (See FIG. 5B), a hoop layer is formed on the outer surface of the dome portion 24 as shown in FIG. In this case, the speed adjustment described above is carried out by keeping the winding angle α ₀ (0 <α ₀ <90 °) constant in the cylinder portion 22 and spirally carbon fiber in the winding direction along the tank center axis AX direction. 31 is wound, and the winding direction is turned back on the outer surface of the dome portion 24, and the carbon fiber 31 is adjusted to be wound spirally around the cylinder portion 22 at the winding angle α ₀ again. In the present embodiment, the winding angle α ₀ is a relatively small winding angle such that the winding direction is turned back at the dome portion 24 before the carbon fiber 31 makes one round in the cylinder portion 22. In the outer periphery of the cylinder portion 22, a multilayer fiber winding layer is formed in which the fiber winding layer by hoop winding and the fiber winding layer by low-angle helical winding overlap each other. In this case, a fiber layer in which the carbon fibers 31 are stretched in a mesh shape is formed by repeating the fiber winding.

  When the fiber reinforced resin layer 30 is thus formed, the resin liner 20 that has been subjected to the FW method is subjected to curing in order to cure the thermosetting resin (step S130). After the curing, the high-pressure gas tank 10 is obtained. Will be.

  In the present embodiment described above, the resin liner 20 constituting the high-pressure gas tank 10 has the reinforcing annular body 26 fitted and attached to the depressed portion 25 of the dome portion 24 at the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22. The reinforcing annular body 26 is made of a resin composite material or metal, so that the reinforcing annular body 26 has high strength, and the reinforcing annular body 26 itself secures the strength of the joint portion. For this reason, in this embodiment, since the fiber winding of the high-angle helical winding in the FW method that is usually performed for reinforcing the joining portion of the cylinder portion 22 and the dome portion 24 is omitted, the formation of the fiber reinforced resin layer 30 is omitted. The number of windings of the carbon fiber 31 can be reduced. Therefore, even if the tank outline of the high-pressure gas tank 10 is restricted due to the mounting space or installation space, the outline of the resin liner 20 can be increased by the amount of winding of the carbon fiber 31 being small. By the way, the resin liner 20 reduces the internal volume of the dome portion 24 by the amount of the recessed portion 25 for mounting the reinforcing annular body 26 on the diameter expansion side of the dome portion, but the dome portion 24 other than the recessed portion 25. In addition, in the cylinder portion 22, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the liner after enlarging the outline of the liner. Therefore, it is possible to maintain or expand the internal volume of the entire liner, that is, the internal volume of the high-pressure gas tank 10.

  Since the hoop winding can be performed around the cylinder side of the joining portion of the cylinder portion 22 and the dome portion 24 where the high-angle helical winding described above is omitted, the hoop wound fiber (carbon fiber 31) wound in this way This ensures strength.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the reinforcing annular body 26 fitted and attached to the depressed portion 25 of the dome portion 24 is configured such that the outer shape that hits the outside of the tank is continuous with the constant tension curved surface on the outer surface of the dome portion 24. For this reason, when the carbon fiber 31 is wound around the outer surface of the dome portion 24 by the FW method, the carbon fiber 31 can be wound with high effectiveness along the locus of the helical winding at a low angle, and the appearance due to the winding deviation is not impaired. . Moreover, the reinforcing annular body 26 can be simply fitted into the recessed portion 25 of the dome portion 24 from the top side (reduced diameter side) of the dome portion.

  In addition to the effects described above, according to the manufacturing method employed for obtaining the high-pressure gas tank 10 in this embodiment, the strength can be ensured even if the high-angle helical winding is omitted. In addition to fibers having a strength and rigidity comparable to carbon fibers, for example, low-grade fibers that are slightly inferior in strength and rigidity to carbon fibers can be used. In addition, the manufacturing method described above can be applied regardless of the working pressure and the tank shape defined by the ratio of the tank diameter D and the tank length L.

  In addition, there are the following advantages. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the advantages of the obtained high-pressure gas tank 10. As shown in FIG. 6A, the fiber reinforced resin layer 30 has a different thickness t because the fiber of the hoop winding locus and the fiber of the helical winding locus overlap the cylinder portion 22 between the dome portion 24 and the cylinder portion 22. To do. For this reason, there is a difference in the generated stress between the dome portion 24 and the cylinder portion 22, and secondary stress that tries to share the displacement is generated on the cylinder side at the joined portion of the dome portion 24 and the cylinder portion 22. As shown by the thick line, shearing force and bending stress are generated. In the figure, R is the tank radius, P is the working pressure, and σ is a constant specific to the material related to the strength.

As shown in FIG. 6B, it is ideal that the straight cylinder portion and the curved dome portion are in contact with each other. However, in the actual winding lamination of the carbon fibers 31 by the FW method, the helical lamination angle α in the figure corresponding to the winding angle α ₀ of the helical winding fiber does not become 0 degree. This is synonymous with the fact that the tangent line of the joint portion is not continuous when it is wound from the dome portion 24 to the cylinder portion 22 by helical winding. Disturbances can occur. According to the high-pressure gas tank 10 of the present embodiment, such stress can be resisted by the reinforcing annular body 26, so that the effectiveness of securing the tank strength can be enhanced.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to above-described embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it is possible to implement in various aspects. FIG. 7 is an equivalent view of FIG. 2 and is an explanatory view showing an enlarged main part of a high-pressure gas tank 10A of another embodiment. FIG. 8 is an equivalent view of FIG. 2 and shows a main part of a high-pressure gas tank 10B of another embodiment. It is explanatory drawing expanded and shown.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the reinforcing annular body 26 </ b> A includes a joint portion between the dome portion 24 and the cylinder portion 22, but does not overhang on the cylinder side, and can be formed in a straight shape. In this high-pressure gas tank 10A, the depressed portion 25A is formed by dividing the region including the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22 by two inner walls that are located on the inner side of the outer surface of the spherical surface of the dome portion and are orthogonal to each other. A reinforcing annular body 26A is fitted and mounted. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, it can also be set as the reinforcement annular body 26B which includes the junction part of the dome part 24 and the cylinder part 22, and is extended in the curved surface shape to the dome part 24 side. In this high-pressure gas tank 10B, the depressed portion 25A is formed by partitioning a region including the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22 with a curved inner wall located inside the outer surface of the spherical shape of the dome portion, and the reinforcing annular body 26B is formed in the depressed portion 25B. Are fitted and installed. In addition, the reinforcing annular body is bonded to a partition portion where the region including the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22 is located on the inner side of the outer surface of the dome portion spherical shape and is partitioned by a linear inner wall along the spherical chord. It can also be. In addition, the region including the joint portion with the cylinder portion 22 is partitioned by a concave inner wall that is recessed inward from the outer surface of the dome portion spherical shape, and a reinforcing annular body is fitted and attached to the partition portion. You can also. In this case, what is necessary is just to mount | wear to a concave division site | part from the outer side as a division body which can divide | segment a reinforcement annular body into 2 parts or 3 parts.

  FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 and is an explanatory view showing an enlarged main part of a high pressure gas tank 10C according to a modification. As shown in the figure, the high-pressure gas tank 10C is provided so as to surround the reinforcing annular body 26C at the depressed portion 25C of the dome portion 24, and the isotensive curved surface of the dome portion 24 is entirely formed on the outer surface of the dome portion 24. It was decided. In order to obtain the resin liner 20 and thus the high-pressure gas tank 10C having such a structure, the reinforcing annular body 26C is previously placed in the mold when the liner part (see FIG. 1) divided into two at the center in the tank longitudinal direction is formed. Insert molding in which the resin is injected after being set to the above may be employed. The liner parts formed through the insert molding can be joined to form the resin liner 20. According to the high-pressure gas tank 10C of this modification, not only can the resin liner 20 embedded and surrounded by the reinforcing annular body 26B be easily manufactured, but the outer shape of the dome portion 24 can be easily maintained to be an isotensive curved surface. Therefore, winding of the carbon fiber 31 by the FW method (hoop winding and low-angle helical winding) can be performed without any trouble.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the high-angle helical winding is omitted in the production of the high-pressure gas tank 10 has been described as an example. However, the high-angle helical winding is executed after the hoop winding, and further the low-angle helical winding is performed. It is also possible to perform. In this case, the number of turns of the high-angle helically wound fiber can be reduced from the number of turns of the conventional technique.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10A-10C ... High pressure gas tank 12 ... Tank metal fitting 14 ... Tank metal fitting 20 ... Resin liner 22 ... Cylinder part 24 ... Dome part 25, 25A-25C ... Recessed part 26, 26A-26C ... Reinforcement annular body 30 ... Fiber reinforcement Resin layer 31 ... Carbon fiber 35 ... Reel AX ... Tank central axis

Claims (5)

A resin liner for a high-pressure gas tank,
Spherical dome parts are joined to both sides of the cylindrical cylinder part.
The dome portion defines a region including a joint portion with the cylinder portion by an inner wall located on the inner side of the outer surface of the spherical shape, and a material having higher strength than the resin used for liner formation is used for the partitioned portion. A resin liner having a reinforced annular body.   2. The resin liner according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing annular body is disposed in the partition portion after the outer shape of the tank that corresponds to the outer side of the tank is the spherical shape.   3. The reinforcing annular body is fitted from the reduced diameter side of the dome portion into the partition portion where the enlarged portion of the dome portion at the joining portion is a recessed portion that is recessed around the tank axis. The resin liner as described.   2. The resin liner according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing annular body is embedded and installed in the partition portion of the resin dome through insert molding at the time of liner formation. A high pressure gas tank,
A high-pressure gas tank provided with a fiber reinforced resin layer impregnated with a thermosetting resin on the outer periphery of the resin liner according to any one of claims 1 to 4 through fiber winding by a filament winding method.

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