DESIGN OF DOMES FOR POLYMERIC COMPOSITE PRESSURE-VESSELS

The role of mechanical properties of composite material in dome contou r design has been investigated. It has been shown that the optimal dom e profile depends on the ratio of longitudinal Young's modulus to tran sverse Young's modulus in individual laminae (E(x)/E(y)). This profile for any type of composite material always lies between the Netting An alysis solution (E(y) = 0, E(x)/E(y) = infinity) and a semi-circle whi ch is the solution for the square symmetric (E(x)/E(y) = 1) and isotro pic materials. The shells of revolution of double curvature, classical lamination theory (CLT) and the geodesic-isotensoid assumptions have been used.