Test Evaluation of a Linerless Composite Propellant Tank Using the Composite Collapsible Mandrel

A linerless composite propellant tank was designed and manufactured by using the carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials which have superior strength-to-weight ratio in order to reduce weight of the tank. In this research, we designed a sub-scale composite propellant tank with a diameter of 800 mm to withstand an MEOP of 1.7 MPa. We manufactured the boss of the tank by using the same composite materials to reduce the thermal expansion difference between the boss and the secondary-bonded composite layers of the barrel in the cryogenic environment. We used the collapsible mandrel to manufacture the tank without any liner. The mandrel was made from epoxy-based composite tooling prepregs to reduce weight of the mandrel. We manufactured the test tanks by laying up the carbon fiber fabric prepregs manually on the mandrel and then applying the autoclave cure process. We performed a proof test, a helium tightness test, a repeated pressurization test, and a burst test in room temperature. The test results demonstrate that the proposed design and manufacture process satisfies all strength requirements as well as an anti-leakage requirement.