Intelligent Flexible Materials for Deployable Space Structures (InFlex)

Cadogan, David; Scheir, Craig; Dixit, Anshu; Ware, Jody; Ferl, Jinny; Cooper, E.M.; Kopf, Peter W.

doi:10.4271/2006-01-2065

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…1 ILC also worked with the JSC lunar surface system group to examine lunar habitat configurations and to build a habitat environmental test unit which was deployed in Antarctica. 2,3 ILC then collaborated with LaRC to build the mid expandable habitat and JSC to build a concentric habitat demonstration unit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Study and Design of Foldable and Expandable Space Structures

Hinkle

Willey

Kling

2013

54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

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Expandable space structures offer advantages for long duration exploration by providing a maximum amount of operational volume at a minimum transportation cost. The current research is focused on using the dynamic properties of the folding process to yield a new class of deployable surfaces and deployable linkages. These foldable structures can be incorporated into a multitude of space based applications for habitats. Specifically, the folding schemes can be used for interior subsystems, external protective layers, and pressure vessels. The numerical study and applications design is the first step towards building a demonstration system for a multitude of applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Study and Design of Foldable and Expandable Space Structures

Hinkle

Willey

Kling

2013

54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

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“…[2][3][4] ILC Dover worked to advance the technology of inflatable structures with the development of intelligent flexible materials for deployable space structures (InFlex) in 2006. [5][6][7][8] ILC Dover, in cooperation with NASA LaRC, designed and built a full-scale, full pressure capable engineering development unit during the InFlex program. The unit was 3 meters in diameter and 10 meters in length when integrated with the hard modules on the end cap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Testing of an Expandable Structure Using Multi-layer Softgoods Technology

Hinkle¹,

Cadogan²,

Roushey³

et al. 2012

53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials ConferenceSelf Cite

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ILC Dover has designed and tested a 16 foot diameter, 32 foot long expandable structure to 25 psi with a minimum safety factor of four at design pressure. This large, highly stressed inflatable uses a resilient multi-layer design approach. The layers consist of macro-woven webbing and rope assemblies, a secondary structural layer, and an underlying inflation retention layer. Multiple assemblies have been constructed and tested for structural integrity, dimensional accuracy and reliable deployment. The structural load bearing members are fabricated from Vectran™ fibers which provide excellent strength and flex fold characteristics so small packing volumes can be achieved. The technology was developed to create a tunnel plug for isolating tunnel sections in an event of flooding or chemical attack. The flexible nature of the approach and scalability of the technology allows the design to be applied towards numerous aerospace and industrial applications such as space habitats, transportable hyperbaric chambers, and out-of-autoclave curing mandrels for the manufacture of large composite parts. Nomenclature= webbing tension R t = rope tension n = number of sides in polygon α = polygon angle p = pressure r = radius σ = membrane stress b = local radius R = global radius

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“…One such effort was the Intelligent Flexible materials (InFlex) program 3 ; a collaboration between NASA Langley and ILC Dover, begun in 2006, which culminated in the design and manufacture of a full-scale expandable habitat (Fig. 2) Engineering Development Unit (EDU) designed to operate at 9 psig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%

Accelerated Creep Testing of High Strength Aramid Webbing
Jones¹,
Doggett²,
Stnfield³
et al. 2012
53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
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A series of preliminary accelerated creep tests were performed on four variants of 12K and 24K lbf rated Vectran webbing to help develop an accelerated creep test methodology and analysis capability for high strength aramid webbings. The variants included pristine, aged, folded and stitched samples. This class of webbings is used in the restraint layer of habitable, inflatable space structures, for which the lifetime properties are currently not well characterized. The Stepped Isothermal Method was used to accelerate the creep life of the webbings and a novel stereo photogrammetry system was used to measure the full-field strains. A custom MATLAB code is described, and used to reduce the strain data to produce master creep curves for the test samples. Initial results show good correlation between replicates; however, it is clear that a larger number of samples are needed to build confidence in the consistency of the results. It is noted that local fiber breaks affect the creep response in a similar manner to increasing the load, thus raising the creep rate and reducing the time to creep failure. The stitched webbings produced the highest variance between replicates, due to the combination of higher local stresses and thread-on-fiber damage. Large variability in the strength of the webbings is also shown to have an impact on the range of predicted creep life.

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Intelligent Flexible Materials for Deployable Space Structures (InFlex)

Cited by 13 publications

References 5 publications

Numerical Study and Design of Foldable and Expandable Space Structures

Numerical Study and Design of Foldable and Expandable Space Structures

Design and Testing of an Expandable Structure Using Multi-layer Softgoods Technology

Accelerated Creep Testing of High Strength Aramid Webbing

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