Stress and Fracture Analysis of Ceramic Lined, Composite or Steel Jacketed Pressure Vessels

Abstract

Stress and fracture analysis of ceramic-lined cannon pressure vessels is described, for a Si3N4 or SiC liner and A723 steel or carbon-epoxy jacket and with an initial residual interface pressure between liner and jacket and pressure applied to the bore. Room temperature stresses for a steel jacket over ceramic are similar to those for a carbon-epoxy jacket, but both radial and hoop jacket stresses can exceed typical carbon-epoxy strength values. Elevated temperature liner stresses are reduced for a carbon-epoxy jacket, due to the effective increase in interface pressure caused by differential thermal expansion. Critical crack sizes for brittle fracture are generally very small, albeit larger for Si3N4 than SiC due to lower liner stresses and higher fracture toughness for Si3N4.