Design of a new generation of conformable high-pressure vessels for gaseous fuels in automotive applications

越来越具有挑战性的监管/环境和经济问题正在推动对替代能源的扩大使用的需求，例如压缩天然气，氢气和电池等。 监管驱动因素，如加州的零排放车辆任务和国家公路交通安全管理局的企业平均燃油经济性任务，将要求原始设备制造商调整车队数量组合，以包括燃料电池，压缩天然气和电动汽车。没有一种燃料源或动力系统可以满足所有要求;相反，这些燃料的组合将需要用于整个舰队的各种平台。克莱斯勒认为，压缩天然气作为一个有前途的经济可行的短期解决方案，以协助实现这些任务。 拟议的研究重点是探索一种新型的压缩天然气储存容器技术，其灵感来自自然界中观察到的分支网络，如肺。 具体而言，该提案旨在开发一个框架，用于设计由一系列管组成的压缩天然气容器，以适应任意几何形状。设计方法是建立在分形的概念，其中一个简单的模式是用来构建一个复杂的结构。 这个想法将用于开发一种算法，用于将一系列具有一定直径范围的分支管拟合成任意形状，使得气体存储容量至少为70%（任意体积的70%可用于气体存储），同时保持结构完整性和合理的填充时间。

Increasingly challenging regulatory/environmental and economic concerns are driving the need for expanded use of alternative energy sources, such as compressed natural gas, hydrogen, and batteries, among others. Regulatory drivers such as California's Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Corporate Average Fuel Economy mandate will require Original Equipment Manufacturers to adjust fleet volume combinations to include fuel cell, compressed natural gas, and electrified vehicles. No one fuel source or power-train can achieve all the requirements; rather, a combination of these fuels will be required for various platforms across the fleet. Chrysler views compressed natural gas as a promising economically viable near term solution to assist in achieving these mandates. The proposed research focuses on exploring a novel storage vessel technology for compressed natural gas inspired by branching networks observed in nature, such as the lungs. Specifically, this proposal aims to develop a framework for designing compressed natural gas vessels consisting of a series of tubes to fit into an arbitrary geometry. The design methodology is founded in the concept of fractals, whereby a simple pattern is used to construct a complex structure. This idea will be used to develop an algorithm for fitting a series of branching tubes with a range of diameters into an arbitrary shape such that the gas storage capacity is at least 70% (70% of the arbitrary volume is available for gas storage), while maintaining structural integrity and reasonable fill times.