Study of tensile strength of aluminum alloy bottle with carbon fiber winding

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2015-09, Vol.40 (36), p.12436-12446
• Main Authors: Cheng, Wei-Yang, Wu, Shinn-Dar, Ma, Hsiao-Kang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminium alloy 7075; Carbon fiber; Gas tungsten arc welding; Hydrogen bottle; Tensile strength; Winding
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.052

High strength aluminum alloy 7075 was used as a hydrogen bottle material in this study. Gas tungsten arc welding was performed, and Taguchi method was applied to determine the aspect ratios of the melting area and obtain the optimal parameters and welding conditions of different locations. The solution treatment after post-weld artificial aging heat treatment, with or without weld metal and welding filler after non-heat treatment, and the mechanical properties of hardness and microstructure were also discussed. Heat treatment after welding and microhardness of the weld was increased by approximately 43% with filler. The welded junction is a vulnerable area in hydrogen bottles, thereby posing a threat to human safety. Therefore, this study simulated the tensile strength at welding area and used different types of carbon fiber windings to improve tensile strength, which reached 520.551 kgf at 4 °C. With carbon fiber winding, the optimum hydraulic test results that reached 60 kgf/cm2 were derived from a welding bottle. Comparing the bare bottle strength of 20 kgf/cm2, the data of carbon fiber winding is three times more than the bare bottle. In the end, more studies on strength enhancement applications should be considered in the future. •Using aluminum 7075-T6 in weight was effectively decreased by 33.33%.•Using the optimum fiber winding methods, the maximum yield points can reach about 9.3 kgf, and the maximum tensile strength of at 4 °C was 520.551 kgf.•The hydraulic pressure by from 20 kgf/cm2 of bare bottle to 60 kgf/cm2.