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COSMOS helps analyze tank designed for
studying weightlessness
Company
Tankinetics
Inc. |
Industry
Aerospace/Defense |
Location
U.S.A. |
Product Used
COSMOSM
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Type of Analysis
Advanced Nonlinear
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More Details
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Tankinetics modeled the lower ring
module with quadrilateral thick composite shell
elements.
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The Challenge
Tankinetics Inc. of Harrison, Arkansas, designs, manufactures,
transports and erects fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) tanks
for a variety of purposes, such as storing chemicals, waste materials,
and foods, as well as such corrosive jobs as waste materials processing.
They needed to test a custom-built 50-ft. diameter, 377-gallon
capacity oblated laminated plastic tank with several 24-inch view
ports to make sure that no cracks or other failures had been caused
by the oblation process. The tank was to be used to study the
effects of weightlessness.
The Solution
The oblation process compresses a cylindrical tank section laterally
and then restrains it with a steel framework -- creating very
large displacements of the structure. For that reason, Tankinetics
needed to perform nonlinear analysis.
Tankinetics chose to use COSMOSM analysis
sofware. A review of the results showed that none of the layers
of the laminate were subjected to stresses that would induce failure
or cracking, and the tank went on to provide weightlessness simulation
for more than 50 people.
Summary and Metrics:
- Stresses proved greatest in the area of reduced radius, where
the corrosion barrier is being compressed
- Quarter model consisted of 195 shell elements and 11 gap elements
that defined the oblated shape
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"...COSMOSM's
plots help with visualization for customers - so that
in addition to being an engineering tool, we use it as
a marketing tool."
Al Newberry, President of Tankinetics
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