Filament wound structures such as pressure tanks, pipes and motor cases of rockets
are widely used in aerospace applications. The determination of a proper winding angle
and thickness is very important to decrease manufacturing difficulties and to increase
structural efficiency. In this study, possible winding angles considering the slippage
between a fiber and a mandrel surface are calculated using the semi-geodesic path
equation. In addition, finite element analyses using ABAQUS are performed to predict
the behavior of filament wound structures considering continuous change of the winding
angle and thickness at the dome part due to fiber built-up near the metallic boss. Waterpressuring
tests of a 3rd stage motor case are performed to verify the analysis procedure.
The strain gages are attached on the surface in the fiber direction. Progressive failure
analysis predicted the burst pressure a little bit higher than the experiment and the
weakest region of the motor case very well. The effect of reinforcement is also studied to
increase its performance.