NUMERICAL OPTIMIZATION OF A THIN-WALL TUBE SUBJECTED TO INTERNAL PRESSURE AND TORSION

G. Jiga, E. Nuu, S. Drghici University Politehnica of Bucharest E-mail: gabijiga@yahoo.com Key words: pressure vessel, optimization process, fiber-reinforced, multilayer composite, numerical model, fiber orientation, finite element 1. Introduction Many fields of technical applications require furthermore the use of fiber-reinforced composites for product development. As modern materials, these types of composites are characterized by very good mechanical properties being the appropriate selection whenever high strength and stiffness are required. Their mechanical properties are not only the result of the fiber and matrix properties nor the fiber percentage in the material. The fiber orientation contribution upon the material strength and stiffness is also essential. Different applications require different fiber orientations. A lot of papers have studied the behavior of thin-walled tubes made of metallic materials (steel, aluminum etc.) [1]. In order to have lighter structures the actual tendencies are to introduce new materials (as composite materials) for building-up these pressure vessels. The present paper deals with a numerical study linked to the optimization of thin-wall tubes subjected to internal pressure and torsion. In order to have a high resistance versus minimum weight, the optimization has in view three aspects: - the determination of the optimum fiber-matrix composite system considering several variants (i.e. S-glass/epoxy, Kevlar/epoxy, Carbon/epoxy); - optimization of the number of layers and the corresponding stacking sequence; - the comparison between the best composite configuration results and the aluminum ones. The study has as main purpose to find the best composite configuration as regard its mechanical resistance, which could substitute the equivalent classic one. 2. Theoretical aspects In engineering practice, the optimization is a fundamental stage when designing a structural component. Usually, before the process of optimization, a mathematical and physical model of the structure is being built. The complexity of mechanical and physical phenomena is, for the most part, impossible to evaluate entirely and consider within the problem. Due to this fact, simplifying hypothesis are made. In this paper, the modeling process of the multilayer composite is based on the following assumptions [2]: - The composite is a laminate made of a stack of permanently combined layers. The joint surfaces are infinitesimally thin, and they do not permit interlayer shearing. - The layers are symmetric in geometry and material properties about the middle plane of the composite. - Each layer is a lamina made of a matrix reinforced with a ply of unidirectional fibers, and has a thickness (the lamina thickness is very small compared to its length and width). The bonds between fibers and matrix are perfect. - The lamina is macroscopically homogeneous, orthotropic and linearly elastic. - The reinforcing fibers are homogeneous, isotropic, linearly elastic, regularly spaced and perfectly aligned in each layer. It is admitted that the curing residual stresses are neglectable. Also, as simplifying hypothesis one can presume that the tube works in normal thermal conditions (room temperature) and low humidity (dry conditions) [3].

The finite element modeling is approximate, and as a result, the accuracy of the solution depends heavily upon the type of element, the finite element mesh and density. According to reference [4], most composites structures are best modeled using plate and shell elements. In this paper, in order to check if the finite element used in the analysis is suited for solving the proposed problem, an analytical study has been made on an aluminum alloy cylindrical vessel on the basis of thin-walled tube theory. In this particularly case the relations used for the calculation of maximum principal stress 1 and 2 for pressure loading and for external torque loading are:
1 =
pD pD ; 2 = ; 2t 4t

2M D2 t

(1)

In the above relations, p is the internal pressure, D is the pressure vessel diameter, t is the wall thickness, and M is the external torque (Fig.1). 3. Model considerations The analysis has been made using the Finite Element Method on a cylindrical pressure vessel having hemispherical ends (fig.1).

M D p

M x t

Fig.1 Cylindrical pressure vessel The physical and mechanical properties of the aluminum alloy 5083 used within the analysis are presented in Table 1. Table 1 3 E [MPa] [g/cm ] c [MPa] r [MPa] Young modulus Poissons coefficient density yield limit shear strength 72000 0,33 2,65 240 175 For the composite structure, three different materials have been taken into account. The physical and mechanical properties are shown in Table 2: Table 2 Material Properties E1 [MPa] E2 = E3 [MPa] 12 = 13 G12 = G13 [MPa] F1t [MPa] F2t [MPa] F6 [MPa] F1c [MPa] F2c [MPa] [g/cm3] 39000 8600 0,28 3800 1080 39 89 620 128 2,1 E-Glass epoxy Kevlar epoxy (aramide 149/epoxy) 87000 5500 0,34 2200 1280 30 49 335 158 1,38 Carbon-epoxy (AS4/3501-6) 142000 10300 0,27 7200 2280 57 71 1440 228 1,58

Within the analysis there has been taking into account the geometrical symmetry and therefore only half of the model was considered (fig.2). Due to anti-symmetrical loading (torque) the model

couldnt be approached as an axis-symmetrical one. The moment of torsion was applied as a distributed load on the cylindrical part circumference that defines the limit of the hemispherical end. Translations along x-axis (the cylinder axis of rotation) and rotations about the same axis were blocked for the nodes posted into the symmetry plane.

Fig.2 Structure mesh The finite element type used for modeling aluminum pressure vessel is a Shell element with 8 nodes designed for curve plates. The three composites were modeled using a layered linear elastic Shell element with 8 nodes, also designed for curve plates. For the aluminum pressure vessel the von Mises yield criterion was applied with a material yield limit yp = 240 MPa and an allowable safety factor S f = 2 .In order to evaluate the three composites resistance, the Tsai Wu failure criteria for first ply failure (FPF) was considered. Comparative studies realized on unidirectional, cross-ply (0/90)S and balanced laminates ()S have been taken into account in order to find the optimum thickness topt corresponding to a minimum weight for the same loading conditions as those applied for the aluminum vessel. The geometry and loads of the pressure vessel are respectively: p = 2 MPa, M = 300 kNm and D = 900 mm. The pressure vessel length does not influence upon the stress state induced neither by the internal pressure and/or by the external torque. However, a 2 m length has been considered for the cylindrical part of the pressure vessel, in order to realize the model and to allow the optimum mass evaluation. For the aluminum structure, a process of optimization has been done considering as objective function the maximum von Mises stress and as a design variable the tube wall thickness. The optimization of composites pressure vessel has in view to find the best stacking sequence corresponding to a minimum number of layers. This was done, imposing as objective function the maximum value of Tsai Wu failure criteria with the convergence limit equal to 1, and as design variables the lamination angle and the number of laminas. Taking into account the classical assumption that stresses are linearly distributed along the lamina thickness [5], it is enough to consider only the values of stresses calculated on the top or bottom of the lamina, where the maximum occurs. The thickness of layers was considered constant for each of the three materials. For

diminishing the shear interlaminar stresses, it is recommended [3] to keep the lamina thickness to a minimum value. Table 3 shows the values of layer thicknesses considered within the
model. Material Lamina thickness [mm] E-Glass epoxy 0,165 Kevlar epoxy 0,127 Table 3 Carbon epoxy 0,127

It is to mention that the mesh refinement does not significantly modify the solution, thus increasing the number of finite elements would only make heavier the process of optimization.

4. Results and discussions For the aluminum pressure vessel, the optimum wall thickness topt was found to be equal to 6,36 mm. The optimum mass (corresponding to this thickness) is mopt = 138,17 Kg. The equivalent von Mises stress distribution for the aluminum pressure vessel is shown in figure 2. Although, due to geometrical and load symmetry, it is expected that the equivalent von Mises stress distribution to be uniformly into the pressure vessel hemispherical end, there are yet areas of less stressed material (Fig.3.). These areas are modeled with triangular elements (Fig.2.), and therefore, the stress leap occurs. The influence of these stress leaps onto optimization results can be neglected being that the maximum stress appears in the material defining the vessel cylindrical part. Figure 4 shows the allowable thickness t variation against the lamination angle corresponding to [] angle ply laminate pressure vessel.

Fig.3. Von Mises stress distribution

Fig.4. Allowable thickness as a function of lamination angle for the three composite materials

It can be noticed, from figure 3, that all three composites have the best response at [40 deg] lamination angle. For all that, there is a significant difference between the optimum allowable thicknesses. For a better view of results, the optimal values of thicknesses and the corresponding masses for the three composites are tabulated in table 4. Material Optimum thickness, topt [mm] Optimum mass, mopt [kg] E-Glass epoxy 7,92 136 Kevlar epoxy 5,1 57,46 Table 4 Carbon epoxy 2,8 36,2

In table 5 there are presented the optimal results corresponding to [0;90]s stacking sequence for the three composite materials. Table 5 Material E-Glass epoxy Kevlar epoxy Carbon epoxy Optimum thickness, topt [mm] 9,9 6,6 4,6 Optimum mass, mopt [kg] 170,44 74,7 59,2 The presented results show that the most convenient material for building up the pressure vessel is carbon epoxy composite with [40 deg] fiber orientation angle. References

1. David Roylance, Pressure vessels, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, August 23, 2001

2. Jacek Winiewski, Optimal design of fibers in multiplayer composites using genetic algorithms,

Technical University of d, Department of Technical Mechanics, d, Poland

3. Daniel, I.M., Ishai, O., Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials, New York Oxford
University, 1994

4. Jones, R., Mechanics of Composite Materials, Second Edition, 1998 5. Jiga, G., Notiuni fundamentale in mecanica materialelor compozite, Editura Atlas Press, 2005