Analysis of Conformable Pressure Vessels: Introducing the Multi-Bubble

This paper outlines the structural analysis of an articulated pressurizable structure termed the multibubble. The multibubble is a structurally efficient pressure vessel that pressurizes a volume with substantial spatial freedom. Applications are found in pressure cabins for blended-wing–body aircraft and conformable pressure vessels for liquid gases (e.g., propane) or cryogenic applications. Themultibubble in this paper can be configured in an openor closed-cell configuration and consists of cylindrical and spherical membrane elements equipped with walls and/or reinforcements at the intersections in order to ensure structural integrity. The multibubble allows pressurization loads to be carried through in-plane stresses. To solve for loads and forces in the multibubble, it is shown that the solution simply depends on pressure and geometric variables.