Method of forming reusable seamless mandrels for the fabrication of hollow fiber wound vessels

A method of fabricating a seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel suitable for forming a plurality of seamless and hollow fiber wound vessels upon and forming such seamless and hollow fiber wound vessels upon said mandrel, the method comprising the steps of:

• readying a destructible mandrel, the destructible mandrel being at least somewhat the general shape of a desired seamless and hollow fiber wound vessel to be produced using the resulting seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel, wherein the step of readying a destructible mandrel comprises the steps of:
• forming a layer of plaster and cut fibers over a foam block;
• forming a layer of plaster over the layer of plaster and cut fibers;
• and
• screeding the layer of plaster to the shape and size of the seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel;
• applying a layer of generally gas impermeable material about the destructible mandrel to form a first layer of the seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel;
• winding a layer of at least one fiber about the destructible mandrel to form a second layer of the seamless, reusable, and collapsible mandrel, the second layer functioning as a reinforcement layer;
• forming a release surface on the exterior of the outermost layer, the release surface being formed in the shape of the interior of the desired seamless and hollow fiber wound vessel and the outermost layer being suitable for winding a fiber wound vessel upon such that the reinforcement layer limits the expansion of the seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel when pressurized gas is introduced therein such that as the pressure inside the mandrel is increased as the material forming the vessel is added to the seamless, reusable, and collapsible mandrel and such that the mandrel maintains its shape as the seamless and hollow fiber wound vessel is formed thereon;
• removing the destructible mandrel from the interior of the seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel such that no structures remain within the interior of the seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel which interconnect portions of an interior wall of the mandrel while not disrupting the integrity of the removable mandrel nor forming any seams therein;
• and
• forming a plurality of seamless and hollow fiber wound vessels upon the seamless, reusable and collapsible mandrel.