Abstract
CNG buses were introduced in 2002 to reduce air pollution to the big cities. The durability and safety evaluation were performed for the NGV-2 type cylinders taken from two buses after 30 months of running. No external damage and no internal corrosion was observed on the container surfaces. Defect exceeding the allowable limit was not found in the UT test. Permanent volume expansion was about 1.2% which is much smaller than the required design limit. Cycling test showed no failure after 11,250cycles and burst pressures were still above the maximum design pressure. Both the longitudinal and circumferential failure mode were observed, where both the fracture strengths were far above the design limit. This study showed the present CNG fuel cylinders were safe enough for further usage.
