Collaborations

   TEAMING WITH THE CUSTOMER TO OPTIMIZE RESULTS 

EXPERTISE

From characterizing a composite structure’s various component material capabilities; to identifying the optimal combinations of material and manufacturing processes; to ensuring quality control and procedures for long lasting and predictable results we, at HEI, can help our customers achieve their goals.  We at HEI know composite pressure vessels; our base of experience spans many decades and many diverse applications.  Our customers know their market needs and product requirements and when we work together as a team we are able to bring to bear a comprehensive suite of services ranging from simple testing and analysis to full service turn-key new product design, development, and certification.

Below are a few project examples where, working as a team with our customers, HEI was instrumental in achieve outstanding results: 

PRESSURE VESSEL DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND CERTIFICATION

The original founders of HEI came from the aerospace filament winding industry determined to bring that level of expertise and capability into the commercial arena.  HEI’s first contracts were the design, development, and final qualification of self-contained breathing apparatus, (SCBA), for customers in Europe, North America, and Asia.  Working hand-in-hand with the customer and their specific criteria HEI was able to tailor the various SCBA designs for regional regulatory as well as market driven requirements.

After two decades HEI still works with most of its original customers to update and qualify new SCBA designs as requirements and technology enable better and more cost effect products.

HEI has qualified composite pressure vessels with many worldwide regulatory agencies and/or industry groups including but not exclusive to:   DOT, KHK, MOT, HSE, TÜV, ISO, DNV, NGV2, ASME, Bureau Veritas, etc.  Qualified vessels include type 2,  type3, type 4, and many specialized vessels that do not readily fit into categories and were to designed and qualified to specific customer requirements.

 HEI has a long term relationship with many of the industry material manufacturers (fiber, resins, etc.) to evaluate and fine tune their products for use in the filament winding and wound pressure vessel applications.   Experienced composite designers recognize that all fiber and all resins do not combine equally, HEI works with the fiber or resin manufacturer to identify which combination works well and what factors make a difference.  These efforts have enabled several manufacturers to ‘tune’ their products for improved performance in the expanding composite pressure vessel industry.

Through testing and development we have worked with customers to develop high pressure vessels capable of withstanding sever abuse without degradation or fragmentation, one example of this allowed our customer to meet the dramatic ‘tumbling 50 caliber’ criteria in high pressure oxygen vessels designated for  military applications.  In another instance we worked with NASA to dramatically improve the robustness of space craft pressure vessels without the need of additional dead mass to those vessels.

We have developed specific type 3 and type 4 COPV in-house test platforms to enable us to evaluate materials and processes in cost effective ‘real world’ composite pressure vessel environments.  This as a result of learning that laboratory coupon testing and/ or strand testing can only answer a finite number of questions, one must take the evaluation into an actual pressure vessel to achieve the final answer.

While HEI is capable of a wide range of in-house test capabilities, including high pressure hydroburst, cycle testing, permeation testing, gun-fire/ penetration testing, etc. there are times when specific needs require esoteric capabilities.  HEI prides itself on its relationship with numerous government, private industry, and university test houses around the world where just about any test imaginable can be accomplished.  We have worked with numerous customers to verify, through destructive and/ or non-destructive means component capabilities and reliability. 

PROCESS/ PRODUCT/ BUSINESS OPTIMIZATION

The word ‘optimization’ can mean many things depending on the context used.  At HEI we try to focus on specific goals so that expended efforts and resources themselves are ‘optimally applied’ towards designated results.

We have performed many cost-risk-return evaluations for customers to enable them to ‘optimize’ their business decisions.  Sometimes this results in a development or manufacturing project going forward; sometimes in the decision not to proceed; regardless the business decision is made in light of solid information.

We have performed very effective Failure Mode and Effect Analysis for customers.  When a customer-HEI team joins together in an FMEA the results are always enlightening and often surprising.  Without question the end result is a more robust product and process with reduced technical, programmatic, and business risk. 

COMPOSITE PRESSURE VESSEL INNOVATIONS

Working with NASA over a number of years HEI developed the capability to design pressure vessels that reliably perform at both cryogenic and ambient temperatures; this performance comes as a result of special material selection as well as design optimization.  As a result HEI was able to work with a European Auto Manufacturer to develop composite pressure vessels that could be filled with liquid hydrogen (cryogenic conditions)) and subsequently hold high pressure boil-off gases (ambient conditions).  As a result of this ‘hand-in-glove’ joint development the program was very successful.

Working with an Asian auto manufacturer HEI was the first to develop a composite pressure vessel meeting very stringent high pressure (10,000 psig service pressure) as well as extreme cycle requirements for hydrogen fuel cell applications.  This was accomplished by ‘borrowing’ material science from aerospace activities and applying that to a commercial application; something HEI is very good at.

We have since developed very high pressure COPVs for numerous commercial, aerospace, and DOD applications.

HEI has developed a proprietary process and design for integrating plastic liners into COPVs (type 4).  We continue to expand this technology for the containment of ‘difficult to contain’ gases including hydrogen, oxygen, helium, etc. 

TOLL MANUFACTURING

While not a manufacturer of thousands, let alone tens of thousands of a specific design of COPVs HEI none-the-less offers its clients the option of having their own specialized products and designs manufactured in our facilities.  Should their requirements demand the tens of thousands then we can help meet that requirement as well as we are closely teamed with several production facilities. 

TECNHOLOGY LICENSING

HEI offers its clients commercial rights of specific proprietary HEI technology for a negotiated fee