Filament winding of hydrogen tanks

In the most common variant of filament winding, the fiber is placed on a rotating mandrel using a sled. The winding angle is controlled by the speed of the sled along the mandrel, as well as the rotational speed of the mandrel. The fiber can be impregnated with a resin before winding, but dry filament winding also occurs. All types of continuous fiber can be used e.g. natural fiber composites, fiberglass and carbon fiber. The resins used are thermosetting plastics such as polyester, vinyl ester and epoxy. Products manufactured using filament winding have a very high fiber content and thus good mechanical properties

At RISE, we work with the development of the filament winding process, from simulation of the winding process, for example with the help of CADWIND to the development of products. This area of expertise is an important tool in our investment in the hydrogen area where filament winding is identified as a suitable manufacturing technology for, for example, storage tanks.

Using CADWIND, we can calculate winding parameters for a given geometry. The program generates the code that is later used in the manufacture of the selected product. The laminate structure can also be exported to finite element calculations of the mechanical properties. Hence, with the help of CADWIND, we can optimize the filament winding process, optimize material consumption and manufacturing time.

The filament winding equipment consists of a 4-axis Josef Baer with a maximum mandrel diameter of 550 mm and a maximum winding length of 1250 mm. The curing takes place in a programmable oven with dimensions (l x b x h) 2300 x 1190 x 1490 mm.