The Application Scenario

Within IMCOD we chose the design of pressure vessels composed of composite materials as an application scenario [Ste94] (cf. figure 2).

 
Figure 2:   A composite pressure vessel and the winding process (source: IVW, GmbH)

It turns out that materials play a crucial role for the following design issues in this domain:

liner

A mandrel whose outer shape is equivalent to the inner shape of the vessel and on which the fiber rovings are wound. The liner remains part of the vessel as a barrier between the composite main vessel body and the stored medium. It may also have supporting structural tasks for the vessel.

fiber

A single filament of typically 5 to 15µm, which is combined with some hundreds other filaments to a bundle (a so-called roving), with usually outstanding strength properties in fiber direction. It is used to reinforce other materials like polymers, forming a polymer composite.

matrix

E.g. a polymer, in which fibers are embedded for its reinforcement. The matrix usually shows little strength but has ductile properties.

vessel attachment

A fixing out of metal or another appropriate material to attach the vessel at its place of destination, e.g. a car's chassis.

vessel fittings

Fittings like pressure flanges for a connection of the vessel to the pressure inlet and outlet and the installation of valves and measuring instruments.

Hence, some of the knowledge bases of the local experts, e.g. a database for material selection, a production cost analyzing system, etc., are (partially) based on an ontology of materials. Also the integrated product model requires such an ontology. However, the structure of ontology of materials science seems to be universally applicable to the domain, independent of any specific task. Therefore, we will present an exhaustive overview of materials science, especially plastics, in the following.