DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF POLYMER-LINED COMPOSITE TANK FOR LIQUID HYDROGEN TANK OF REUSABLE VEHICLE TEST

摘要

This paper includes everything which is necessary to make a polymer-lined cryogenic composite tank, i.e. concept, design method, manufacturing process, and recent results of tests. They are also the history of development of the tank in our Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA). At first the concept and production method of the tank is explained. In the production process it is the key that whole liner is formed at one time by use of heat melt bonding. Next the design method based on fracture mechanics is derived. Here an analytical solution of energy release rate for the bonding structure is formulated by considering difference in strain energies in tension and bending before and after crack growth based on a simplified mathematical model. In addition to this derivation, comparison with numerical results and one design optimization sample are also shown. After that the results of tests for actual tank is shown and current status of the tank is discussed. At last conclusion is shown.