Optimisation of compound pressure cylinders

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is optimization of the weight of compound cylinder for a specific pressure. The variables are shrinkage radius and shrinkage tolerance. Design/methodology/approach: SEQ technique for optimization, the finite element code, ANSYS for numerical simulation are employed to predict the optimized conditions. The results are verified by testing a number of closed end cylinders with various geometries, materials and internal pressures. Findings: The weight of a compound cylinder could reduce by 60% with respect to a single steel cylinder. The reduction is more significant at higher working pressures. While the reduction of weight is negligible for k<2.5, it increases markedly for 2.5