Commercial Filament Wound Pressure Vessels for military and Aerospace Applications

Light weight, low cost, composite pressure vessels, fabricated by over-wrapping thin metal liners with continuous high strength fibers embedded in resins, have been developed as a result of transferring aerospace technology to commercial products. Because the resulting filament wound tanks offer up to 507% reduction in weight and other advantages compared to homogeneous metal vessels, they have been successful in numerous commercial applications. With their advanced technology but lower cost, composite tanks are perfect for military and aerospace applications - as evidenced by the recent selection of commercial filament wound cylinders for the Manned Maneuvering Unit thruster for Space Shuttle astronauts.