Design and Simulation Optimization of Type IV On-Board Hydrogen Storage Cylinders

To address the safety and lightweight requirements for hydrogen storage systems in fuel cell vehicles, this study investigates the structural design and simulation optimization of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders. Material selection for the inner liner and the fiber winding layer was conducted based on high-pressure hydrogen storage standards. The geodesic winding theory and the grid theory were applied to design the winding angle and number of layers for the aramid fiber-reinforced composite. A 3D model was created in SolidWorks, and finite element simulation was employed to analyze the stress-strain characteristics under various operational conditions. To mitigate excessive stress in the inner liner, a self-tightening force optimization method was introduced. The results demonstrate that after applying a 90 MPa self-tightening pressure, the maximum stress in the inner liner was reduced to 28.6 MPa—below the yield strength of HDPE (29.4 MPa). Consequently, the cylinder’s fatigue life increased from 32,000 cycles to 100,000 cycles. Under the 70 MPa working pressure, the maximum strain in the fiber layer was 0.76%, and under the 158 MPa burst pressure, it reached 1.72%, both values meeting the design requirements. This research provides theoretical support for the engineering application of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders.