A pressure vessel includes front and rear end plates and a plurality of open-ended vessel structures constructed of fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composite material positioned adjacent to one another so that their longitudinal axes are parallel to a longitudinal direction extending between the front and rear end plates. The vessel also includes an outer reinforcement comprising polymer matrix composite material with continuous fibres extending longitudinally around the pressure vessel to secure the front and rear end plates to the vessel structures. At least one of the vessel structures has a partially curved cross section in a plane perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, such that one or more crevices are formed between the vessel structures, running longitudinally between the front and rear end plates and the front and rear end plates are shaped to allow the outer reinforcement to at least partially fill the one or more crevices between the vessel structures.

A high-pressure tank includes a liner for storing a fluid, and a reinforcing layer covering an outer surface of the liner and including a fiber wound around the liner and a resin. The reinforcing layer includes a helical layer group including laminated helical layers, and a large-angle layer provided adjacent to the helical layer group and on the liner-side. The helical layer group includes an innermost layer that is closest to the liner and that is one of first and second helical layers respectively having the largest and second largest fiber winding angles, an outermost layer that is closest to an outer surface of the high-pressure tank and that is the other one of the first and second helical layers, and an intermediate layer disposed between the innermost and outermost layers and including a helical layer that is smaller in winding angle than the innermost and outermost layers.

There is provided a high-pressure tank manufacturing method that ensures a shorten heating period compared with a conventional one and eliminates a need for taking out a material for heating after heating. A high-pressure tank manufacturing method includes: disposing a conductive heating material on an outer periphery of a resin liner; winding a conductive fiber with which thermosetting resin is impregnated around the outer periphery of the resin liner on which the heating material is disposed; and heating the heating material and the fiber on the outer periphery of the resin liner by induction heating to harden the thermosetting resin.

In a pressure vessel formed by a fiber reinforced resin including reinforcing fibers and thermosetting resin impregnated in the reinforcing fibers, the fiber reinforced resin contains nylon particles dispersed in the thermosetting resin. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a pressure vessel including dispersing nylon particles in molten thermosetting resin, impregnating reinforcing fibers with the molten thermosetting resin having the nylon particles dispersed therein, wrapping the reinforcing fibers impregnated with the molten thermosetting resin around a mandrel, heating the reinforcing fibers and the thermosetting resin to cure the thermosetting resin, and removing the mandrel from the thermosetting resin after curing the thermosetting resin.

A high-pressure tank includes: a liner made of resin and including a tubular body portion and a pair of dome-shaped side end portions provided in the opposite ends of the body portion; and a fiber reinforced resin layer made of a fiber reinforced resin and covering an outer peripheral surface of the liner. The fiber reinforced resin layer is formed by winding a fiber bundle impregnated with a resin, and an outer peripheral surface of the fiber reinforced resin layer is covered with a resin layer made of a resin. A part of the fiber reinforced resin layer includes a protrusion portion by continuously winding the fiber bundle in an overlapped manner along the circumferential direction of the body portion the part of the fiber reinforced resin layer covering the body portion.

The present invention provides a lightweight high pressure vessels that are made from a liner or a liner housing that is overwrapped with a composite material. Unlike conventional high pressure vessels, the lightweight high pressure vessel of the invention includes a liner that comprises a plurality of liner sections without using welding or crimping. In particular, the lightweight high pressure vessels of the invention include a plurality of elements that are combined to form a liner housing and a composite overwrap that provides structural and mechanical strength to maintain integrity of the high pressure vessel. In one particular embodiment, the high pressure vessel of the invention is a diaphragm accumulator.

A high-pressure vessel includes: a body portion formed in an open cylindrical shape; a cap, at least a part of the cap being inserted inside an opening of at least one end portion of the body portion to thereby plug the end portion; a first reinforcement layer provided at an outer peripheral surface of the body portion and configured by fiber-reinforced plastic having a fiber direction that coincides with a circumferential direction of the body portion; and a second reinforcement layer configured by fiber-reinforced plastic including fibers that pass through a center portion of the cap, as seen in the axial direction of the body portion, and that are disposed parallel to the axial direction of the body portion, as seen in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the body portion.

A high-pressure tank in a method of manufacturing a high-pressure tank includes a liner and a fiber. The manufacturing method includes: preparing a dome and a pipe each having a general portion and a joining end portion formed to be thicker than the general portion such that an outer diameter at least at an end face is larger than an outer diameter of the general portion by an estimated level difference amount; joining the joining end portion of the dome and the joining end portion of the pipe together in an axial direction; cutting off portions on the further outer side in a radial direction than a reference plane, with an outer peripheral surface of the general portion of the dome having a large outer diameter at the joined surface as the reference plane; and winding a carbon fiber around the outer peripheral surface of the liner in helical winding.

A fiber structure that includes a liner, and a fiber reinforcement base material formed of a fabric. The fiber reinforcement base material externally covers a body portion and a dome-shaped portion of the liner, and includes first yarns and second yarns. The first yarns are arranged such that a direction in which a yarn main axis of each of the first yarns in the body portion and the dome-shaped portion proceeds is a circumferential direction of the liner. The second yarns are arranged such that a direction in which a yarn main axis of each of the second yarns in the body portion proceeds is an axial direction of the body portion and that a direction in which a yarn main axis of a portion of each of the second yarns arranged in the dome-shaped portion proceeds is an axial direction of the dome-shaped portion.

A pressure vessel is provided that has a structural shell formed by winding filaments upon a substantially cylindrical form. The structural shell has a first filament and a second filament. The first filament includes of a first material. The first filament is wound about the form in a primarily hoop direction. The second filament includes a second material. The second material is different from the first material. The second filament is wound about the form in a primarily helical direction. The first filament and second filament are interwoven in a layer upon the form.