This paper describes design, manufacture, and testing of a linerless composite vessel for liquid hydrogen, having 0.3 m diameter and 0.9 m length. The vessel consists of a composite cylinder manufactured by wet filament winding of thin-ply composite bands, bonded to titanium end caps produced by additive manufacturing. The aim was to demonstrate the linerless design concept with a thin-ply composite for the cylinder. The investigation is limited to the internal pressure vessel, while real cryogenic tanks also involve an outer vessel containing vacuum for thermal insulation. Thermal stresses dominate during normal operation (4 bar) and the layup was selected for equal hoop strains in the composite cylinder and end caps during filling with liquid hydrogen. Two vessels were tested in 20 cycles, by filling and emptying with liquid nitrogen to 4 bar, without signs of damage or leakage. Subsequently, one vessel was tested until burst at almost 30 bar.
Open access funding provided by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. This work was to 92% funded by Energimyndigheten (the Swedish Energy Agency) through contract P2021-90061. Co-funding was provided by Oxeon AB. Finalisation of the manuscript has subsequently been funded by the internal development funds of RISE and Energimyndigheten (the Swedish Energy Agency) through contract P2021-90268 via the Competence Centre TechForH2