Optimal Design Analysis of Composite Submersible Pressure Hull

Abstract

Recently, submersible pressure hulls with fiber-reinforced multilayer constructions have been developed as substitutes for classical metallic ring-stiffened pressure hulls. The strength and stability is its top priority. In this paper, the optimum design of elliptical composite deep-submerged pressure hull under hydrostatic pressure is investigated based on the finite element analysis to minimize the buoyancy factor of the submersible pressure hull according to the design requirements. Minimize the buoyancy factor of a submarine pressure hull under hydrostatic pressure is proposed as an objective function and the constraints based on the failure strength and the buckling strength of the hulls are considered. The thickness and the fiber orientation angles in each layer, the radii of the ellipse, the stringers dimensions and the operating depth are taken as design variables. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to study the influence of the design variables up on the Tsai-Wu failure. Results of this study provide a valuable reference for designers of composite underwater vehicles.