A hydraulic compressed air energy storage system includes air and liquid tanks, each of which includes interdependent volumes of liquid and air. Each tank includes dedicated passages through which incoming air may be fed, forcing outflow of liquid, or incoming liquid may be fed, forcing outflow of air. Compressed air tanks are connected to a first group of the air and liquid tanks. The system further includes a pump and a liquid turbine, the liquid turbine being electrically connected to a generator for generating electric power. During charging of the system, liquid is pumped through the first group of air and liquid tanks, and air is expelled from the first group of air and liquid tanks and compressed in the compressed air tanks. During discharging of the system, compressed air is released from the compressed air tanks, and said compressed air pumps liquid through the liquid turbine, thereby generating electricity.

Provided is a pressure vessel strain analysis device capable of grasping a correlation between manufacturing conditions and strains. The pressure vessel strain analysis device includes an analysis unit. Based on a plurality of manufacturing conditions of a plurality of pressure vessels and a plurality of strains acquired by an image correlation method in a state where a predetermined internal pressure is applied to the plurality of pressure vessels manufactured under the plurality of manufacturing conditions, the analysis unit calculates a correlation between the plurality of manufacturing conditions and the plurality of strains.

The present disclosure relates to at least one method for ascertaining at least one attribute of pressure vessel wall. A method comprises: while a pressure vessel, which comprises a wall having an outer surface and an inner surface, is operating: ascertaining a current wavelength shift of a first fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor disposed at a first outer surface location on the pressure vessel; and ascertaining a current thickness of the wall at the first outer surface location by: computing a vector based on a time series of the current wavelength shift, or a derivative of the time series, or a derivative of the current wavelength shift; providing the vector to a predetermined regression model; and using the regression model, ascertaining the current thickness of the wall.

The invention is a reservoir for the storage of a pressurized fluid such as compressed air notably to the storage and recovery of energy using compressed air. In particular, the reservoir comprises at least one tube formed of an arrangement of concentric layers (C1, C2, C3, C4). This arrangement comprises, working from the inside toward the outside of the tube, an internal layer (C1) formed of concrete, a layer (C2) formed of steel of thickness E, at least one layer (C3) formed by a winding of steel wires (C3″) on a sublayer (C3′) of concrete, and an external layer (C4) which protects the wires against at least one of physical and chemical damage, and in which the wires are subjected to circumferential (hoop) tensile prestress with at least one of the thickness E and the prestress being rated to withstand the pressure of pressurized fluid.

A flange for a pressure vessel includes a rim, a sealing seat, and an undercut fillet. The rim has an annular surface for abutting an annular end of a cylindrical wall of the pressure vessel. The sealing seat has a cylindrical surface for abutting an inner surface of the cylindrical wall of the pressure vessel nearby the annular end. The undercut fillet is disposed between the rim and the sealing seat. A concave surface of the undercut fillet extends the annular surface of the rim radially inward and then curves back outward to intersect the cylindrical surface of the sealing seat. The undercut fillet of the flange helps distribute stress produced from a pressure differential between the inside and outside of the pressure vessel.

A tank includes a liner including an inner shell; and a reinforcing layer covering an outer surface of the liner; wherein the reinforcing layer is formed by continuously winding resin-impregnated fiber bundles around the liner, the reinforcing layer includes a hoop layer placed in a side of the liner, and a helical layer, gaps are formed between adjacent bundles of the resin-impregnated fiber bundles wound in the hoop layer, there is at least one site where the resin-impregnated fiber bundles are wound without forming a gap between adjacent bundles in the helical layer, and resin in the resin-impregnated fiber bundles has a resin toughness value of not less than 1.0 MPa.Math.m.sup.0.5.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to compressed gas storage units, which in certain applications may be employed in conjunction with energy storage systems. Some embodiments may comprise one or more blow-molded polymer shells, formed for example from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Embodiments of compressed gas storage units may be composite in nature, for example comprising carbon fiber filament(s) wound with a resin over a liner. A compressed gas storage unit may further include a heat exchanger element comprising a heat pipe or apparatus configured to introduce liquid directly into the storage unit for heat exchange with the compressed gas present therein.

An assembly for storing and transporting compressed fluid, such as compressed natural gas, that includes a plurality of hexagonally stacked pipe stored in a cargo hold in or on a vessel, that includes a lower support, side supports and a forcing mechanism that presses strongly down on the pipes so that they cannot move relative to themselves or the vessel on which they are placed. The friction between the pipes causes the plurality of pipes to act as part of the vessel in terms of its structure. The stacked pipe is supported by a plurality of spacers, such as convex side up pipe segments for maintaining a gap between adjacent ones of said plurality of pipes in a same row in said stacked pipe. A load equalizer may be located above the plurality of pipes for distributing the compressive force from the forcing mechanism.

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.

The present invention is a pressure tank comprising a tubular part and two bottoms (5) with the bottoms (5) positioned at the ends of the tubular part. The tubular part comprises a cylindrical wall (1) and a ply of circumferential reinforcing elements (2) wound around cylindrical wall (1). The elastic modulus of the material of cylindrical wall (1) is less than the elastic modulus of the material of the first ply of circumferential reinforcing elements (2). The invention also relates to an energy storage and recovery system comprising a compressor, an expansion device, a heat storage and a compressed air tank according to the aforementioned characteristics.