초록 ▼

A toroid pressure vessel includes a toroid body having an inner shell and an outer shell. The toroid body includes a toroid outer perimeter. The outer shell extends along the toroid outer perimeter. A planar exterior face extends along at least a portion of the outer shell and the toroid outer perim

A toroid pressure vessel includes a toroid body having an inner shell and an outer shell. The toroid body includes a toroid outer perimeter. The outer shell extends along the toroid outer perimeter. A planar exterior face extends along at least a portion of the outer shell and the toroid outer perimeter. A support belt circumscribes the toroid outer perimeter and is coupled along the planar exterior face. The support belt braces and supports the pressure vessel along the toroid outer perimeter against bulging force (and hoop stress) generated by pressurized fluids within the vessel. The support belt facilitates the use of thinner pressure vessel shells and thereby decreases the weight of the pressure vessel while providing a support to the outer shell that substantially prevents deformation of the planar exterior face.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A pressure vessel comprising: toroid body including an inner shell coupled with an outer shell forming a toroid cross section, each of the inner or outer shells includes respective upper and lower edges, and at least one upper edge and at least one lower edge includes mating lips extending along

1. A pressure vessel comprising: toroid body including an inner shell coupled with an outer shell forming a toroid cross section, each of the inner or outer shells includes respective upper and lower edges, and at least one upper edge and at least one lower edge includes mating lips extending along respective edges of the inner and outer shells, the toroid body includes a toroid outer perimeter, and the outer shell extends along the toroid outer perimeter;wherein the upper and lower edges opposed to the mating lips are flush with the corresponding upper and lower edges according to reception of the opposed upper and lower edges along the mating lips;a planar exterior face extends along at least a portion of the outer shell and the toroid outer perimeter; anda support belt circumscribes the toroid outer perimeter and is coupled along the planar exterior face, the support belt includes: a first belt layer around the toroid outer perimeter, the first belt layer having a first belt layer edge,a second belt layer over the first belt layer and around the toroid outer perimeter, the second belt layer having a second belt layer edge, andstepped tapered belt edges near upper and lower portions of the planar exterior face, the stepped tapered belt edges include the second belt layer edge recessed relative to the first belt layer edge. 2. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein the planar exterior face circumscribes the toroid outer perimeter. 3. The pressure vessel of claim 2, wherein the outer shell includes the planar exterior face and upper and lower rounded corners extending along the planar exterior face, the upper and lower rounded corners mate with the inner shell. 4. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein the planar exterior face is substantially parallel to a toroid body longitudinal axis. 5. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein the inner shell includes a curved shape, the inner shell curving from upper and lower edges of the inner shell toward a toroid inner perimeter. 6. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein the support belt includes carbon fibers impregnated with a resin. 7. The pressure vessel of claim 1 comprising an interior course wrapping extending helically around the inner shell and the outer shell including the planar exterior face, the interior course wrapping extends over the toroid outer perimeter. 8. The pressure vessel of claim 7, wherein the support belt is engaged along the interior course wrapping located over the planar exterior face. 9. The pressure vessel of claim 8 comprising an exterior course wrapping extending helically around the inner shell and the outer shell, the exterior course wrapping extends over the toroid outer perimeter, and the exterior course wrapping extends over the support belt and the interior course wrapping. 10. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein the support belt tapers in thickness at the stepped tapered belt edges according to the recess of the second belt layer edge relative to the first belt layer edge. 11. The pressure vessel of claim 10, wherein the support belt includes a cylinder extending between the upper and lower belt edges, and a cylinder longitudinal axis of the support belt is coincident with a toroid body longitudinal axis. 12. The pressure vessel of claim 11, wherein the thickness of the outer shell along the toroid outer perimeter is substantially equal to the thickness of the inner shell. 13. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein each of the upper and lower edges and the mating lips are at opposed polar locations of the toroid body. 14. The pressure vessel of claim 1, wherein the mating lips include planar flanges extending from the at least one upper edge and the at least one lower edge. 15. The pressure vessel of claim 14, wherein the mating lips are configured to block an electron beam between the respective upper and lower edges. 16. A method of making a pressure vessel comprising: forming a planar exterior face along at least a portion of an outer shell;forming a toroid body including coupling an inner shell with an outer shell, the outer shell extends along a toroid outer perimeter, and the planar exterior face extends along at least a portion of the toroid outer perimeter, coupling the inner and outer shells includes: flushly coupling an upper edge of the inner shell with an upper edge of the outer shell according to reception of one of the upper edges along a first mating lip of the other upper edge, andflushing coupling a lower edge of the inner shell with a lower edge of the outer shell according to reception of one of the lower edges along a second mating lip of the other lower edge; andcoupling a support belt around the toroid outer perimeter, wherein the support belt is coupled along the planar exterior face, wherein coupling the support belt includes: applying at least a first belt layer around the toroid outer perimeter, the first belt layer including a first belt layer edge,applying at least a second belt layer over the first belt layer and around the toroid outer perimeter, a second belt layer edge of the second belt layer recessed from the first belt layer edge, andforming stepped tapered belt edges near upper and lower portions of the toroid outer perimeter according to the first and second belt layer edges. 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the mating lips extend directly beneath the respective upper and lower edges of each of the inner and outer shells, and comprising blocking a welding beam from reaching an interior surface of one or more of the inner and outer shells with the one or more mating lips. 18. The method of claim 16, wherein forming the toroid body includes nesting the inner shell within the outer shell, and a longitudinal axis of the inner shell is coincident with a longitudinal axis of the outer shell. 19. The method of claim 16, wherein forming the toroid body includes coupling the inner shell with an inner shell thickness with the outer shell having an outer shell thickness, the outer shell thickness is substantially equal to the inner shell thickness, and the outer shell thickness is adjacent to the toroid body perimeter. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein forming the toroid body includes coupling the inner shell along upper and lower rounded corners of the outer shell, and the upper and lower rounded corners have a corner thickness greater than the inner and outer shell thicknesses. 21. The method of claim 16 comprising forming the inner shell with a curved shape, the inner shell curving from upper and lower edges of the inner shell toward a toroid inner perimeter. 22. The method of claim 16 comprising wrapping an interior course wrapping helically around the inner and outer shells including the planar exterior face, the interior course wrapping extends over the toroid outer perimeter. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein coupling the support belt around the toroid outer perimeter includes engaging the support belt along the interior course wrapping located over the planar exterior face. 24. The method of claim 16 comprising wrapping an exterior course wrapping helically around the inner and outer shells, the exterior course wrapping extends over the support belt, the interior course wrapping and the toroid outer perimeter. 25. The method of claim 16, wherein coupling the support belt around the toroid outer perimeter includes wrapping one or more fabric hoops around the toroid outer perimeter and adhering the one or more fabric hoops with the toroid outer perimeter with an adhesive. 26. The method of claim 16 comprising wrapping one or more of interior or exterior course wrappings helically around the inner and outer shells including wrapping carbon fibers around the inner and outer shells and adhering the carbon fibers with the inner and outer shells with an adhesive. 27. The method of claim 16, wherein flushly coupling the upper edges includes flushly coupling the upper edges of the inner and outer shells at a first polar location of the toroid body, and flushly coupling the lower edges includes flushly coupling the lower edges of the inner and outer shells at a second polar location of the torpid body opposed to the first polar location.