USING DEAL.II FOR STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF A MEDICAL OXYGEN CYLINDER
Date
2023-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IOE Pulchowk Campus
Abstract
Medical Oxygen Cylinders being convenient containers for transportation and storage of
oxygen gas has wide range of applications in industries and hospitals. Storing oxygen at
high pressure in cylinders increases the risk of structural failure. This study aims to develop a program based on open source C++ library for Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in
thin-walled cylinders and to apply the program to perform structural analysis and safety assessment of medical oxygen cylinders operating below their working pressure. To achieve
this goal, a literature review was conducted to identify gaps in the use of open-source software for FEA in thin-walled cylinders. Open source FEA library called deal.ii was used
to construct the program. This C++ based program was verified by comparing it with the
hoop stress results from theoretical calculation and ANSYS for a simple hollow cylinder.
The study then proceeded to create a detailed CAD model of the medical oxygen cylinder
for a parametric study for varying wall thickness and material. The model was simplified and meshed for FEA, with pressure and fixity constraints applied during simulation.
The parametric simulations were run through the developed program which showed that
maximum hoop stress occurs in the region around neck of the cylinder. The methodology
involved verification of the program by comparing the results with that of ANSYS and
theoretical calculations in case of simple hollow cylinder in which maximum error was
found to be 0.875 %. Parametric analysis for variying material and thickness found that
the cylinder with larger thickness i.e., 5.6 mm, and material 37MnSi5 undergoes through
the smallest deformation. The development of the open-source software will provide a
valuable resource for future research and development in this field, as well as contribute
to the enhancement of the safety and reliability of medical oxygen cylinders.
Description
Oxygen cylinders are high pressure thin-walled container used for various purposes. Mostly,
these cylinders are used in medical sector. Typically, it contains oxygen at a pressure
around 150 bar. Various sizes of oxygen cylinders are available in the market, ranging
from 10 to 50 liters in capacity
Keywords
Open-source library, Finite Element Analysis