Elastic–Plastic Numerical Analysis of the Spinning Process of SA-372 Steel Used in High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage Cylinders (≥100 MPA)

Abstract

Elastic–plastic numerical analysis of the spinning process of SA-372 steel is used in high-pressure hydrogen storage to analyze high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders with high precision and excellent hydrogen embrittlement resistance. The spinning process of SA-372 steel used to form such a cylinder with a pressure of 100 MPa is investigated through elastic–plastic finite element analysis. The variations in the stress, strain, pressure, temperature, and wall thickness during the spinning processes are comprehensively examined, and the optimized processing parameters are determined based on the numerical analysis results. Finally, these optimal parameters are used to conduct actual spin-forming experiments. The numerical results are found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed elastic–plastic numerical analysis model for the optimization of spinning process parameters. Furthermore, the hydrogen embrittlement test based on ISO 11114-4:2005 method A proves that the cylinder shoulder has a good hydrogen embrittlement resistance.