Conception, Design and Manufacture of Type IV Hydrogen Pressure Vessels for General Aviation

Hydrogen plays an important role in decarbonising general aviation but demands more storage space compared to state of the art jet fuel. Geometrically optimised cylindrical or ellipsoidal vessel designs show potential solutions for the challenge of maximum utilisation of installation space and pose new scientific questions regarding design, design methodology and the manufacturing process to achieve high specific storage densities of the vessel system. The design process of such optimised cylindrical vessel is introduced under consideration of important regulatory requirements. Material and manufacturing process choices for the designed type IV vessel in regards to liner and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP)-shell are discussed and applied.