Composite-material pressure vessel and system and method for controlling the vessel
AssigneeFaber Industrie S.p.A.
InventorRaffaele Di Sarno
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A composite-material pressure vessel (1) has a wall (4) with a reinforcing layer (11) containing one or more reinforcing fibers, wherein the reinforcing layer is an electrical conductor, wherein the wall (4) forms an electrical capacitor (13) having a first plate formed of the reinforcing layer (11), a second plate formed of an electrically conductive layer (15) overlapping the dielectric layer (11), a dielectric layer (14) interposed between the reinforcing layer (11) and the electrically conductive layer (15), as well as electrical terminals (19, 20) connected to the first and the second plates. The vessel control method and system perform electrical tests on the capacitor to derive information about the wall (4) structural condition.
Claims15
A method for controlling structural properties of a pressure vessel, comprising:
- providing a composite-material pressure vessel having a wall defining an inner storage space, in which said wall comprises:
- a reinforcing layer containing one or more reinforcing fibres, said reinforcing layer being an electrical conductor,
- an electrically conductive layer overlapping the reinforcing layer, and
- a dielectric layer interposed between the reinforcing layer and the electrically conductive layer,
- so as to form an electrical capacitor with a first plate formed of the reinforcing layer, a second plate formed of the electrically conductive layer, and the dielectric layer,
- electrical terminals connected to the first and second plates of the capacitor,
- connecting an electric control system to the terminals of the pressure vessel,
- carrying out, by the electric control system, the following steps:
- subjecting the capacitor to at least one electrical test to detect a real value of at least one electric characteristic of the capacitor, and
- generating at least one control signal or datum representative of a structural condition of said wall depending on the real value of the detected electric characteristic.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.