Abstract
Strengthening inflated structures through rigidization of the enclosing membrane has been suggested as a way to improve robustness. Toward this end, rigid foam appears to hold significant promise as a replacement for the pressurized gas of early inflatables. In March 1998, an experiment designed to manufacture foam rigidized struts was flown on the NASA KC-135 aircraft. This paper presents a description of the experiment and a comparison of properties of foam rigidized struts manufactured in the microgravity environment to those of struts manufactured in a 1-G environment. The density profile of the rigidizing foam and other morphological characteristics were not significantly affected by gravity in this experiment. This is due in part to the small struts required by the short duration of 0-G in the NASA KC-135. Adhesion of the foam to the Kapton, however, was significantly different in the 0-G struts than in the 1-G struts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2555-2561 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Collection of Technical Papers - AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference |
| Volume | 4 |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Event | Proceedings of the 1999 AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structrures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference and Exhibit - St. Louis, MO, USA Duration: Apr 12 1999 → Apr 15 1999 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Architecture
- General Materials Science
- Aerospace Engineering
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering