JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014 - 18

CFRP

Utilizing its basic technology for Type 4 CFRP
high-pressure containers,
Maruhachi Corp. is taking
part in a national research
and development project
for hydrogen technologies
and signed a contract for
a joint research and development project with the
New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development
Organization in 2013. The
company plans to present
a prototype of a larger and
longer Type 4 CFRP highpressure container, which
is requested by the market,
in fiscal 2015. Japan lags
behind other countries to
create regulations for large
high-pressure containers,
hydrogen fuelling stations
and transportation containers. The government plans
to create regulations during
or after the fiscal year starting April 2016. Maruhachi
Corp. plans to produce
containers for commercial
use and obtain the necessary certifications once the
regulations are in place.

History of highpressure containers
development
Maruhachi Corp. jointly developed an extinguisher for
sodium metal fires with the
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (now the

Fig. 2: Type 3 CFRP high-pressure oxygen container (liner outside diameter
100 mm, length 355 mm)

Japan Atomic Energy Agency) and entered the business
of high-pressure containers.
The experimental fastbreeder reactor Monju in
Fukui Prefecture has been
suspended for more than 10
years since a sodium leak accident. The fire extinguisher
was developed to deal with
similar accidents.
In 2003, Maruhachi Corp.
used its technology to
develop a small medical oxygen container for home care.
The CFRP Type 3 container
has an aluminium liner, a
capacity of 2.1 litres and an
applied pressure of 20 MPa.
It has been certified by the
High Pressure Gas Safety
Institute of Japan (KHK).
The CFRP small oxygen
container and the certificate
from KHK are shown in
Figure 2.

(a)

Using this basic technology, Maruhachi Corp. began
developing a small 70 MPa
Type 4 ultrahigh-pressure
hydrogen container with
a resin liner for fuel cell
cars. With support from the
Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry between fiscal
2005 and 2006, Maruhachi
Corp. conducted a joint
research with the Fukui
Industrial Support Center,
Osaka University, the University of Tokyo and Tokyo
Metropolitan University.
They developed a container
with a burst pressure of 174
MPa - a record at that time.
The Type 4 CFRP container
with a plastic liner is 650
mm long, 370 mm in diameter and weighs 37.9 kg with
a capacity of 27 litres (see
Figure 3).
In addition to the capa-

(b)

Fig. 3: Single-layered resin liner (a), Multilayered resin liner (b), CFRP high-pressure container (c)

18 jec composites magazine / No93 December 2014

bility to withstand high
filling pressures, Type 4
containers are required to
be lightweight, show high
durability and impact resistance and form a hydrogen
barrier. For composite highpressure containers, various
design parameters need to
be considered such as the
filament winding method,
winding angles, lamination
structure and fibre ratio.
These factors significantly
affect the reliability of highpressure containers. In this
regard, it is important to
apply numerical analysis to
optimize the design before
experiments and evaluations
are carried out. Particularly
for evaluating high-precision intensity, the impact
of anisotropic damage that
is typical of composite materials should be taken into
account. It is also important
to use a design analysis technique based on the finite
element method, an appropriate manufacturing and
processing technology and
an evaluation technique ensuring reliability and safety.
Maruhachi Corp. acquired
the technique through joint
research and development
with Osaka University and
other partners. n
More information:
www.maruhati.co.jp

(c)

http://www.maruhati.co.jp

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014

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