Optimization of pressure hulls of composite materials

ECCM16 – 16th European Conference on Composite Materials, Seville, Spain, 22-26 June 2014

Authors: J.Franco^a, A.Corz^a*, A.Peña^b
aMaterial Composite Group. Universidad de Cadiz. Avda/Ramon Puyol s/n. 11205 Algeciras (Spain)
^*alcorz@caltech.es
^bCalpe Institute of Technology. c/Luna nº11D-11205 Algeciras (Spain)

Keywords: Pressure hulls, composite material, buckling, optimization.

The conventional submarines are made up of high strength steel, allowing them to go to great depths in spite of their large dead weight. In the present work, the pressure hull of a submarine is considered both in steel and in composite material. Materials with high strength to weight ratio include carbon-fiber composites. Carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is
a material containing carbon-fiber on various orientations. A parametric study is conducted to find the optimum thickness of ply by employing a Finite Element Analysis Software package, ANSYS. Linear buckling analysis is used to predict the feasibility of CFRP submarine pressure hull at deep waters. From the studies conducted regarding the weight reduction, it is estimated that replacing steel by CFRP results saves up to 60% in the structural weight.

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