Abstract
Compressed hydrogen gas cylinders with an aluminum liner and carbon fiber wound are currently used as main storage containers in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles region, such cylinders filled with hydrogen gas have the advantages of light weight, high pressure resistance etc. Owing to the fact that cylinders are generally pressurized to 35MPa-92MPa, they may have a vital impact on life and property if failure of the cylinder occurs. For risk prediction, a series of comparative experiments have been carried out and some tests results have been analyzed, where the typical failure mode of such hydrogen cylinders are summarized as irreversible failure, recoverable failure and preventable failure. Irreversible failure refers to the failure mode such as leakage, rupture and penetration, etc, which could cause the cylinder not to restore its original function. Recoverable failure includes thread damage, security attachment startup and so on. The original function of the cylinder could be repaired by repairing the thread and replacing the safety accessories. Preventable failure would be found under the condition such as load at extreme ambient temperature for a long time, filament wound layer cracking caused by surface damage, chemical corrosion and serious impact etc, which could decrease the cylinder strength. In case of existing the preventable failure, cylinders should be monitored in use and the service life would be reduced.
