Optimal Design of Lightweight Composite Pressure Vessel by Using Artificial Immune Algorithm

This research aims to optimize the weight of composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) under internal pressure. In the paper, a new design method based on the clonal selection principle in the biological immunology is proposed to solve the minimum weight problem under the burst pressure constraint. The method consists of three main parts: the non-geodesic path algorithm, variable stiffness analysis algorithm and artificial immune algorithm. A software called SimWind 1.0 was developed on the basis of this method in order to design the composite pressure vessel rapidly and efficiently. Finally, a representative carbon fiber composite pressure vessel with ultrathin Al liner was designed and fabricated by using this new design method and the software.