Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories has developed a variety of composite structure components, some of which are shown below:

This high performance helium tank was fabricated with a thick carbon fiber/epoxy overwrap over a plastic liner.  The tank was equipped with carbon/epoxy skirt extensions, which served as primary structure for the PA-X rocket.  A flexible shear plies were included between the skirts an the pressure vessel to prevent stress risers when the tank is pressurized.  Proto-flight units were fabricated and tested.  The same tank was also used as the fuel tank for the PA-X rocket.  Key specifications for this tank includes:

· Operating Pressure (MEOP) = 5,000 psia

· Minimum Burst Pressure = 10,000 psia

· Volume ~ 19 cu ft

· Size = 3 ft OD x 4 ft long

· Mass ~ 354 lbm dry (incl skirts)

PA-X Helium Tank

Project Gallery — Composites

Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories LLC

Elegant Solutions to Complex Problems

This high performance liquid oxygen tank was fabricated with a carbon fiber/epoxy overwrap over an aluminum liner.  The included integral carbon/epoxy skirt extensions, which served as primary structure for the PA-X rocket.  Both sub-scale and full-scale developmental units were fabricated and tested.  Key specifications for this tank includes:

· Operating Pressure (MEOP) = 500 psia

· Minimum Burst Pressure = 1,000 psia

· Volume ~ 36 cu ft

· Size = 3 ft OD x 7 ft long

· Mass ~ 200 lbm dry (incl skirts)

 

The PA-X LOX tank incorporated an innovative technique to overcome the auto-frettage issue that has plagued all other cryogenic metal-lined composite tanks.  The sub-scale tank was subjected to 8 proof cryo/pressure cycles (fiber loading to 75% breaking strength each cycle) with no leaks and no sign of degradation.  Program was canceled before full-scale tank could be cryo/pressure cycled.

PA-X LOX Tank

This high performance tank was designed to minimize part count, while providing both Class 1 H₂O₂ storage and RP-1 storage.  This tank was fabricated for Orbital Sciences Corporation as a sub-scale proof-of-concept before fabrication of the full-scale structure for the AFRL Upper Stage Flight Experiment (USFE).  The tank consisted of plastic liners and a carbon fiber/epoxy overwrap, with an integral primary structure.  Key specifications for this tank includes:

· Operating Pressure (MEOP) = 800 psia

· Minimum Burst Pressure = 1,440 psia

· Volume

à H₂O₂ = 5.5 cu ft

à RP-1 = 2.3 cu ft

· Size = 24 inch OD x 45 inch long

Sub-scale USFE Common Bulkhead Tank

This high performance tank was designed to minimize part count, while providing both Class 1 H₂O₂ storage and RP-1 storage.  This tank was fabricated for Orbital Sciences Corporation for the AFRL Upper Stage Flight Experiment (USFE).  Three primary composite structures form the complete structural chassis.  The propellant tanks consisted of plastic liners and a carbon fiber/epoxy overwrap, with an integral primary structure.  The first article fabricated passed all acceptance tests.  Key specifications for this tank includes:

· Operating Pressure (MEOP) = 1,100 psia

· Minimum Burst Pressure = 2,200 psia

· Volume

à H₂O₂ = 44.8 cu ft

à RP-1 = 15.5 cu ft

· Size = 50 inch OD x 17 ft long (overall skirt)

· Mass ~ 780 lbm dry

Full-scale USFE

Common Bulkhead Tank and Integral Structure

Building upon more than a decade of research and development, Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories has taken a major leap forward in the storage of high pressure liquid oxygen in composite pressure vessels.  The new proprietary FFB™ technology has solved critical issues that have prevented practical application of high performance composite technology to the storage of liquid oxygen and other cryogenic fluids.  This breakthrough allows tanks built with this technology to approach the theoretical limits of performance for composite pressure vessels, while also delivering unsurpassed cycle life.  A prototype of this tank is currently being fabricated for Thurber Space Systems.

Advanced Cryogenic Composite Tank