Life considerations of the shuttle orbiter densified-tile thermal protection system

The Shuttle orbiter themal protection system (TPS) incorporates ceramic reusable surface insulation tiles bonded to the orbiter substructure through a strain isolation pad. Densification of the bonding surface of the tiles increases the static strength of the tiles. The densification proces does not, however, necessarily lead to an equivalent increase in fatigue strength. Investigation of the expected lifetime of densified tile TPS under both sinusoidal loading and random loading simulating flight conditions indicates that the strain isolation pads are the weakest components of the TPS under fatigue loading. The felt pads loosen under repetitive loading and, in highly loaded regions, could possibly cause excessive step heights between tiles causing burning of the protective insulation between tiles. A method of improving the operational lifetime of the TPS by using a strain isolation pad with increased stiffness is presented as is the consequence of the effect of increased stiffness on the tile inplane strains and transverse stresses

Inclusion of explicit thermal requirements in optimum structural design

A finite-element based procedure is described for obtaining minimum mass designs of structures subjected to combined thermal and mechanical loading and both strength and thermal constraints. The procedure is based on a mathematical programming method using the Sequence of Unconstrained Minimizations Technique (SUMT) in which design requirements are incorporated by an exterior penalty function. The procedure is limited to steady-state temperatures which are controlled by structural sizing only. The optimization procedure is demonstrated by the design of a structural wing box with both mechanical loading and external heating, subject to design constraints on stress, minimum gage, and temperature. The final design for these conditions is compared with a corresponding design in which temperature constraints are omitted

Fatigue properties of shuttle thermal protection system

Static and cyclic load tests were conducted to determine the static and fatigue strength of the RIS tile/SIP thermal protection system used on the orbiter of the space shuttle. The material systems investigated include the densified and undensified LI-900 tile system on the .40 cm thick SIP and the densified and undensified LI-2200 tile system on the .23 cm (.090 inch) thick SIP. The tests were conducted at room temperature with a fully reversed uniform cyclic loading at 1 Hertz. Cyclic loading causes a relatively large reduction in the stress level that each of the SIP/tile systems can withstand for a small number of cycles. For example, the average static strength of the .40 cm thick SIP/LI-900 tile system is reduced from 86 kPa to 62 kPa for a thousand cycles. Although the .23 cm thick SIP/LI-2200 tile system has a higher static strength, similar reductions in the fatigue strength are noted. Densifying the faying surface of the RSI tile changes the failure mode from the SIP/tile interface to the parent RSI or the SIP and thus greatly increases the static strength of the system. Fatigue failure for the densified tile system, however, occurs due to complete separation or excessive elongation of the SIP and the fatigue strength is only slightly greater than that for the undensified tile system

Convolution of Orbital Measures on Symmetric Spaces of type Cp and Dp

We study the absolute continuity of the convolution δ♮eX⋆δ♮eY of two orbital measures on the symmetric spaces SO0(p,p)/SO(p)×SO(p), SU(p,p)/S(U(p)×U(p)) and Sp(p,p)/Sp(p)×Sp(p). We prove sharp conditions on X, Y∈a for the existence of the density of the convolution measure. This measure intervenes in the product formula for the spherical functions

Impact of the Ethanol Boom on Livestock and Dairy Industries: What Are They Going to Eat?

Increased demand for corn for ethanol production has helped push grain prices to record levels. This has increased livestock production costs, and producers have responded with changes to production systems. This paper explores the degree to which costs can be mitigated with alternative feeds, the effect this might have on physical performance, and the impact of alternative feeds on the competitive position of different species.cattle feeding, corn, cost of production, ethanol, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q12, Q13,