An independent assessment was conducted to determine the critical initial flaw size (CIFS) for the flange-to-skin weld in the Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator (USS). The Ares system of space launch vehicles is the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration s plan for replacement of the aging space shuttle. The new Ares space launch system is somewhat of a combination of the space shuttle system and the Saturn launch vehicles used prior to the shuttle. Here, a series of weld analyses are performed to determine the residual stresses in a critical region of the USS. Weld residual stresses both increase constraint and mean stress thereby having an important effect on fatigue and fracture life. While the main focus of this paper is a discussion of the weld modeling procedures and results for the USS, a short summary of the CIFS assessment is provided.
Weld Residual Stress and Distortion Analysis of the ARES I-X Upper Stage Simulator (USS)
2008 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference ; 2008 ; Chicago, IL, United States
27.07.2008
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator Residual Stress Analysis
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