JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #147 - September/October 2022 - 36

FEATURE pressure vessels
al process development is to generate
the offline robot program and perform
a process simulation. The created FPP
laminate is transferred from the Patch
Artist module to the Motion Artist
CAM module, which features the digital
twin of the production system. The
programming of the production system
robot is fully automated and efficiently
generated. The complete manufacturing
process can then be simulated, including
an automated collision check,
with the goal to ensure safe operation
of the FPP production system.
Fig. 2: Three types of principal fi bre orientations in PVs ©
This approach was originally suggested
by the US Department of Energy
in 2013 [1]. But at that time, there was
no industrial process available that was
able to produce those reinforcements
efficiently.
Cevotec's Fibre Patch Placement is the
first technology to lay up dome reinforcements
directly onto the liner using
a fully-automated, industrial process.
This can be combined with established
wet or tow winding equipment.
The magnitude of the potential benefits
of dome reinforcements depends
on the principal geometry of the vessel.
Since FPP dome reinforcements
replace HAHL orientations from the
cylindrical portion of the PV, the benefits
of this solution increase as the
Cevotec
length/diameter aspect ratio increases,
since inefficiently used material is
removed from a larger cylindrical area.
Development process overview
After designing the PV in a standard
CAD software, the geometry is imported
into Cevotec's Artist Studio
software, where the entire virtual design
and production planning process
takes place. The first step is the creation
of the virtual laminate. Each of
the HAHLs to be replaced is defined
using the Patch Artist CAD module.
The laminate is designed using the
built-in curve creation algorithms.
This results in a system of guide curves
being virtually placed on the PV CAD
model. Patches are created on every
curve with a defined length and width.
Transverse and longitudinal
overlaps for the patches
between layers are optimized
to ensure structural
strength. During the virtual
laminate creation step, the
thickness distribution can
be monitored and calculated
in real time, facilitating
efficiency in laminate design
iterations.
The next step in the virtuFig.
3: Replacing the high-angle
helical layers with FPP reinforcements
saves up to 15% carbon fi bre material
©
Cevotec
36
jec composites magazine / N°
147 September - October 2022
The final step is the actual manufacturing
of the dome reinforcement using
Cevotec's SAMBA Pro PV FPP system
(Figures 5 & 6). This newly-developed
automation system is optimized for the
manufacturing of PV reinforcements.
After the machine program is loaded
into the SAMBA system, material in
tape form is fed and used by the system
to cut patches of the chosen geometry.
Each patch is first checked by a vision
system for geometrical accuracy and
defects. The patches are then pickedup
by Cevotec's form-adaptive gripper
mounted at the placement robot. Each
picked-up patch is inspected again to
ensure correct positioning on the gripper.
Potential deviations are corrected
in-line during the final placement step
when the patch is placed on the tool.
The patches can be placed directly
on the vessel liner without additional
post-processing steps. Afterwards, the
tank is ready to be transferred to a FW
station to apply the winding lay-up.
Economic analysis
The key benefits of Cevotec's industrial
solution are the increased storage
efficiency and the associated reduction
in recurring costs and cycle time.
Since several HAHL orientations are
replaced by FPP dome reinforcements,
approximately 15% material and
weight can be saved while achieving
equivalent mechanical properties. At
the same time, the potential volume of
the pressure vessel can be increased by
up to 5%. As the dome reinforcements
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #147 - September/October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #147 - September/October 2022
