A multi-walled storage tanks use pressure differences between walls/shells to maximize fluid mass storage for tank size by reducing or minimizing the distance between the outer most layers of a multi-layer storage device, and keeping the middle one(s), particularly the innermost space, as large as possible, while having shell walls of substantially the same material and thickness, with no wall being thicker than the inner shell wall.

An apparatus for fabricating an internally finned pressure vessel includes a plurality of positioning discs, each of the positioning discs defining a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots extending radially into the positioning disc from a perimeter thereof, and one or more rods extending through the plurality of positioning discs, the plurality of positioning discs being held in axial alignment by the one or more rods. A method of fabricating the internally finned pressure vessel includes providing the apparatus, loading a plurality of fins into the slots of the positioning discs, inserting the apparatus containing the plurality of fins into a pressure vessel, attaching the plurality of fins to the pressure vessel by a brazing process, and removing the apparatus from the pressure vessel.

The present invention relates to metalworking, in particular to producing vessels from non-heat-treatable aluminium alloys used for tanks and pressure vessels. Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a vessel, the method including: forming a tube by rolling at least one flat blank and abutting the edges thereof, friction stir welding the abutted edges and working at least a part of the welded tube into a shape of the vessel, wherein the flat blank is a sheet of a non-heat-treatable aluminium alloy preliminarily subjected to cold working with permanent deformation within the range of 0.5-15%, and said working of at least one part of the welded tube is hot working at a temperature of 230-520° C. The technical effect is a reduction in vessel weight, an increase in vessel strength, a uniform vessel strength and a reduction in the number of hot working cycles during manufacturing of the vessel. Further, the method provides reduced metal and time consumption in manufacturing a vessel from a non-heat-treatable aluminium alloy, low payload ratio, increased reliability and longer service life of the vessel produced using the method.

A non-pyrophoric AB.sub.2-type Laves phase hydrogen storage alloy and hydrogen storage systems using the alloy. The alloy has an A-site to B-site elemental ratio of no more than about 0.5. The alloy has an alloy composition including about (in at %): Zr: 2.0-5.5, Ti: 27-31.3, V: 8.3-9.9, Cr: 20.6-30.5, Mn: 25.4-33.0, Fe: 1.0-5.9, Al: 0.1-0.4, and/or Ni: 0.0-4.0. The hydrogen storage system has one or more hydrogen storage alloy containment vessels with the alloy disposed therein.

A gas pressure container for an airbag system of a motor vehicle is disclosed having a tube element with a high bursting resistance when internal pressure is being applied. The tube element includes a steel alloy and a first longitudinal portion of the tube element has a tensile strength Rm,.sub.11 higher than (>) 800 MPa, a transition temperature Tu,.sub.11 of at least −40° C., and an outer circumference U1. The tube element also includes at least one second longitudinal portion and/or additional longitudinal portions, which extend axially from the first longitudinal portion. The second longitudinal portion or the additional longitudinal portions and the first longitudinal portion are formed from a seamless or welded single-piece tube made of a uniform material, and more specifically from a hot-rolled or cold-drawn tube.

Pressure vessels formed from fiber composites are described. The fiber composites include fibers impregnated with a resin system containing surface-modified nanoparticles dispersed in a curable matrix resin.

A hydrogen gas storage tank includes a body including a steel bulk region and a passivating metal oxide layer adjacent to the steel bulk region, the oxide layer comprising a number of metal oxide molecules, all having a morphology, wherein at least about 51 wt. % of the number of metal oxide molecules are Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 molecules having morphologies of (012), (001), and/or (110) surface facets such that the oxide layer is configured to lower hydrogen adsorption into the steel bulk region by at least 25% compared to a steel bulk region free from the passivating metal oxide layer.

A low temperature fluid dual structure pipe includes: an inner pipe through which a low temperature fluid flows; and an outer pipe externally fitted to the inner pipe with a sealed tubular space therebetween. An inactive gas having a melting point and a boiling point each of which is equal to or higher than a temperature of the low temperature fluid is filled in the tubular space between the inner pipe and the outer pipe. When the low temperature fluid flows through the inner pipe, the inactive gas is liquefied or solidified, and therefore, at least one of a liquefied inactive gas layer and a solidified inactive gas layer is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the inner pipe. As a result, a pseudo vacuum layer that is in a substantially vacuum state is formed in the tubular space.

The invention relates to a container for holding and storing liquids and viscous materials, in particular cryogenic fluids, comprising a jacket (12), which defines the interior (14) of the container (10) having a chamber (16), said container (10) being constituted of at least two container structures (20, 20′, 20″) and each of said at least two container structures (20, 20′, 20″) being formed as one piece from a blank (32) and having a dome portion (22), a branching portion (24), which is contiguous to the dome portion (22), and two cylinder portions (26, 28; 26′, 28′), which are contiguous to the branching portion (24), and the mutually facing container structures (20, 20; 20′, 20″) which are adjacent to each other being joined together.

A method for producing a high-pressure tank capable of winding a reinforcing fiber bundle around a liner without deteriorating tank performance. The method for producing a high-pressure tank by winding a resin-impregnated strip-shaped reinforcing fiber bundle around a rotating liner so as to form a fiber-reinforced resin layer on the outer surface of the liner includes while winding the strip-shaped reinforcing fiber bundle around the liner, concurrently winding another bundle of fibers narrower than the strip-shaped reinforcing fiber bundle around the liner so as to cross the strip-shaped reinforcing fiber bundle.